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r
THE
MISCELLANEOUS WORKS
OFTHI
REV. MATTHEW HENRY, V. D. M.
CONTAININO
IN ADDITION TO THOSE HERETOFORE PUBLISHED,
NUMEROUS SERMONS,
NOW FIRST PRINT£D FROM THE ORIGINAL MSS.
AN APPENDIX,
ox WHAT CHRIST IS MADE TO BELIEVERS, IN FORTY REAL BENEFITS,
BY THE REV. PHILIP HENRY,
NEVER BSFORE PUBLISHED.
ALSO
A PREFACE AND LIFE OF THE REV. P. HENRY, A.M.
CORRBCTBD AND £NLAUG£D
BY J. B. WILLIAMS, LL.D. F.S.A.
WITU
FUNERAL SERMONS FOR MR. AND MRS. HENRY,
BY THE REV. MATTHEW HENRY, V.D.M.
AHD
FUNERAL SERMONS ON MR. MATTHEW HENRY,
BT W. TONO, JOHN REYNOLDS, AND DR. WILLIAMS.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL II.
LONDON :
JOSEPH OGLE ROBINSON, 42, POULTRY.
MDCCCXXXIII.
•Mi's.
* •
* 1
/\
%
GREAT BRITAIN'S PRESENT JOYS AND HOPES ;
DISPLAYED
IN TWO SERMONS,
PREACHED IN CHESTER.
THE FORMER ON THE NATIONAL THANKSGIVING DAY, DECEMBER 31. 1706. THE LATTER THE
DAY FOLLOWING, BEING NEW- YEAR'S DAY.
Psalm Ixt. 11.
TAov erownest the year with thy yoodness.
Among other feasts of the Lord, wbich the Jewish
efaorch was appointed to observe, (and many annual
feasts they had for one fast,) one is called, The feast
iff in-yatherinff at the end cf the yeam^ according to
the civil computation of tiieir year. The feast we
are, this day, solemnising with joy, in commanion
with ail the religions assemblies of onr land, being
appointed by aotbority on the last day of the year,
according to the vulgar reckoning, may be looked
Qpon as our feast of in-gathering : in it we appear
before the Ijord, in whom all onr joys most terminate,
aod to whom all our trophies must be consecrated.
Remember therefore the law of those feasts, that
none must appear before the Lord empty : if onr
hearts be here empty, what will it avail os that our
congregation is full? It is the soul that appears
before God : if that be empty of holy joy in God,
and holy concern for the welfare of the public, which
OQgbt to fill us on such occasions, it is but the
carcass and shell, without the life and kernel, of a
Tbanksgiving-day.
Let this feast at the end of the year be kept to
the honoar of that God who is the Alpha and Omeya,
the First and the Last ; both the spring, and the
centre, of all onr glories. As we must begin every
day and year with him, so with him we must end
both. Par of Aim, and through Aim, and to him are
•H things.
Praise is waiting for God this day in our English
^n, and to him must the vow be performed;^
^he TOW of thanksgiving to God for his mercies to
the land of onr nativity ; in the peace whereof we
have our share ; and in the praises whereof we are
unworthy of the name of Englishmen, if we do not
cheerfully bear our part And how can we sum up
our acknowledgments of God's favours to our nation,
in more proper words than those of my text, Thou
eroymest the year with thy goodness. Common pro-
vidence crowns every year with the goodness of God ;
but special providences crown some years more than
others with it
I. Every year is crowned with God's goodness.
We of this land have as much reason to say so as
any other people ; for, like Canaan, it is a land which
the eyes of the Lord our God are always upon, from
the beginning of the year even unto the end of the
year.*^ He who appoints the bounds of men's habi-
tations, has appointed very well for us: The lines are
fallen to us in such pleasant places, as forbid us to
envy the situation of any of our neighbours, or of
any nation under heaven.
As we have daily meroies to give thanks for, in
the close of every day ; so we have yearly mercies
to give thanks for, in the close of every year, even
the blessings of <* Heaven above," and the '' Earth
beneath ;" for both which we are indebted to him
who made heaven and earth, and continues the ordi-
nances of both for the benefit and comfort of that
mean, unworthy creature, — ^man.
1. The annual revolutions of the heavenly bodies,
and the benefit we receive by their light and influ-
ences, in the several seasons of the year. Summer
and winter crown the year ; God made both, and
both for the service of men, — as well as night and
day.' The shadows of the evening are not more
acceptable to the weary labourer,* than the winter
• Eiod.xxiiLl&
bPi.ixv. I.
c Deut. XL 13.
d Pi. Uziv. 10.
• Job vii. 8.
736
£NGLAND*S JOYS.
quarters of refreshment are to fatigued armies ; and
then the spring, that time when kings go forth to
war/ is as welcome to the bold and faithful soldier,
as the morning is to the honest and industrious
husbandman, who then goes forth to his work and
to his labour.'
And he who made summer and winter, has made
both very easy and comfortable to our land. So yery
temperate is our climate, and so well secured from
both extremes, that the inconveniences neither of
the heat in summer, nor of the cold in winter, are
intolerable, nor such obstructions to business and
intercourse as they are in some other countries,
no .farther north than Russia, nor south than Spain.
So that if our land produce not such furs as the north
does, and such silks as the south, we ought not to
complain: nature did not provide them, because
it had better provided that we should not need
them. We can bid both summer and winter wel-
come ; each are beautiful in their season, and neither
are a terror to us. May the happy temper of our
climate be infused into our minds, and our modera-
tion be known unto all men !
6od*s covenant with Noah and his sons, by which
the seasons of the year were re-settled after the in-
terruption of the deluge, is the crown and glory of
every year : and the constant and regular succession
of summer and winter, seed-time and harvest,** in
performance of that promise, is an encouragement to
our faith in the covenant of grace, which is establish-
ed firmly as those ordinances of heaven !*
2. The annual fruits and products of the earth,
grass for the cattle, and herbs for the service of men,*^
with these the earth is every year enriched for use ;
as well as beautified and adorned for show. The
harvest is the crown of every year, and the great
influence of God's goodness to an evil and unthank-
ful world. And so kind and bountiful is the hand of
providence herein, that we are supplied not only
with necessary food, for the support of nature, and
the holding of our souls in life ; but with a great
variety of pleasant things for ornament and delight.
Our soul is as happy as our climate, and like that
of Asher, yields royal dainties.'
Though all years are not alike plentiful, yet —
through the wise disposal of Providence, that great
house-keeper of the universe — one year serves to
help out another, and so to bring in another ; so that
when we gather much, it proves there is not much
over, and when little, there is no great lack. Or,
one country supplies another ; so that the extremi-
ties of famine have never sent us from our Canaan
to sojourn in any Egypt for bread, but either we
have had it among us, or have been able to fetch it.
It is from the goodness of God that we have our
yearly corn, and out of that our daily bread, which
1 3 Sam. xi. 1.
i Jer. xx&l. 3ft.
V Ps. civ. 83.
k Zech. ix. 17.
h Gen. viii. 23.
1 Gen. xlix. 20.
even after a plentiful harvest we might come short
of, if when we hring it home God did blow upon itJ^
In these things God does good to all, and g^ves them
witnesses of his being and providence, his power
and bounty, sending rain from heaven and fruitful
seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."
And these witnesses to us, will be witnesses against
us, if we serve not the Lord our God with joyfulness
and gladness of heart, in the abundance of the good
things he gives us ; but make those things the food
and fuel of our lusts, which were given us to be oil
to the wheels of our obedience.
Let us thank God for all the blessings of this kind*
with which every year of our lives has been crown-
ed ; and let not the commonness of them lower their
value with us, nor lessen our grateful sense of God's
goodness to us in them ; nor because they have been
hitherto constant, let us therefore imagine that tbey
come of course, or that to-morrow must needs be as
this day, and much more abundant: but let the
praise of all those blessings which we enjoy by the
constant course of nature, be given to the God of
nature ; to him let us own our obligations for what
is past, and on him let us own our dependence for
the future, lest we provoke him to take away our com
in the season thereof
II. Some years are, in a special manner, crowned
vrith the goodness of God more than other years ;
Thou wilt bless the crown of the year with thy goodness,
so the Seventy read it. This year, in which by ex-
traordinary instances, not to be paralleled in the
events of former years, thou hast made known thy
goodness ; things which the former years expected
not. and which the following years cannot forget,
and will reap the benefit of. This year, which thou
hast made — ^to excel other years, and to out-shine
them in the historian's annals as much as crowned
heads transcend common persons — by reviving the
work in the midst of the years^^ when we were ready
to ask. Where are all the wonders which our fathers
told usof?^ And to speak of the years of the right hand
of the Most High^i as what we have heard and read
of, and what our fathers have told us of, but which
we expected not to see in our time.
Every year was crowned with God's goodness, but
not so as the sixth year was, when God made the
earth to bring forth fruit three years,' which were to
live upon the products of that. Every year was
not a year of release, much less a year of jubilee.
The great God never docs any thing mean or little ;
even the common works of nature, and the common
course of providence, give proofs of the infinite
power and goodness of the Creator and Director of
the universe: but sometimes the arm of Omnipo-
tence is in a special manner made bare, and the
treasures of divine bounty opened, in which, though
m Hag. i. 9.
p Jiirig vi. ia
n ActSJciv. 17.
q Lev. xxr. 31.
o HRb. ill. S.
t Ps. Ixxvii. 10.
ENGLAND'S JOYS.
737
God never out-does himself, (as men are sometimes
said to do apon extraordinary occasions,) he oat-
does what he used to do, that he may awaken a stu-
pid and unthinking world, to see the goings of oar
God, oar King, in his sanctuary,* and may proclaim
himself glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, work-
ing wonders.^
Some expositors apply the year, here said to he
crowned with God's goodness, to the year of gospel
grace, in which redemption was purchased for, and
published to, a poor captive world, which is called,
Tke accepUbU year of the Lord.^ That was indeed
the year of God's goodness, when the kindness and
lore of God our Sayiour toward men appeared so
clear, so hright ; that was indeed a crowned year,
not to mention the crowns of common years, the
frnitfal fields and flowery meads. Even the glory of
that year in which Israel was brought out of Egypt,
and received the law from God's mouth, all the
glory which crowned the top of Sinai's mount, was
not to be compared with the glory of the everlasting
gospel, that glory which excelleth, that crown of
glory, wkiekfadeth not away,
Bnt the occasion of the day leads me to apply the
text to those fruits and gifts of the divine goodness,
with which our land has been crowned this year past,
vhich the house of peers in their address have call-
ed/* A Wonderful Year ;" and therefore we may
take leave to call it so, who must form our ideas of
public affairs very much by the sentiments of those,
who are better acquainted than we can be with the
particular motions of them, and have a clearer in-
sight into their secret springs and tendencies than it
is fit for us to pretend to. I know present things
ve apt to affect as most, and will allow for that ; re-
Dembering many a thing, which we called a great
and migbty thing when it was in the doing, but it
afterwards dwindled, and looked very little : but not
nnderraloing what God has wrought for us formerly,
as if there had never been the like before, nor pre-
jadging what may yet be in the womb of a kind pro-
ndence, as if we were never to expect the like
again, but only giving it its due weight, and what
«e think it will hold to, it cannot be denied, but
that God has of late done great things for us ;▼ so
tkey iey enumg the heathen^ and shall not we say it
among ourselves ?
Blessed be God for the many testimonies borne
this day, by better hearts and better tongues than
mine, to the glory of God's goodness*; but into the
^eat treasury of the nation's offering, into which
the great men cast in of their abundance, we are
here out of our poverty to cast in our mite : and the
righteous acts of the Lord must be rehearsed at the
pUca of drawing water j'' which were the rendezvous
of the meaner sort of people, as well as in the palaces
• Ps. xxvi. 2. a
t Exod. XT. II.
w Judg. V. II.
■ Luke \y.\9.
« Ps. zlvii. 9.
of Jacob, where the princes of our people are gather-
ed together, even the people of the God of Abraham.*
And we trust it shall pleaSe the Lord better than
hecatombs of drink-offerings and sacrifices.
In this plain and short acknowledgment, let us
therefore all join with thankful hearts, Lord, thou
crownett the year — this year with thy goodness. Ob-
serve,
1. God and his providence must be owned in all
the blessings of the year. Whatever has been or is
our honour, our joy, our hope, comes from God's
hand, and he must have the praise of it. We are
very unthinking and unwise if we know not, and
very unjust and ungrateful if we own not, that God
gives us our com, our loine, our oils,^ our victories,
our wealth, our peace, our all : Who hnoweth not iu
all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this ?'
whatever it is we glory in : Let him that glories, there-
fore, glory in the Lord>
It is fit instruments should have their due praise ;
and the sense the nation has expressed of its obliga-
tions to those whom God has honoured in the public
service, is a very good indication. It was a sign
that Israel remembered not the Lord their God, when
they showed not kindness to the house of Gideon ;^
but we must lift up our eyes above the hills, as high
as heaven, for from thence cometh our help,^ and
our salvation. It is not from our own sword or bow,
but from God's right hand and his arm, that our
kingdom is great, our power victorious, and our glory
bright ; and therefore to him must the kingdom, the
power, and the glory, be ascribed. Praise ye the
Lord for the avenging of Israel ; for without him it
never had been done, how willingly soever the people
offered themselves.*^
We believe there is a Providence that governs the
world, and rules in all the affairs of it ; and good
men have the comfort of it every day. Even a hea-
then could say, Ovc C7t (ijv tv na KOOfiut ccvcm Bttav Kai
ccvw wpovotac — There were no living in this world with-
out God and his providence. If Providence be our
support in the day of our distress, let Providence
have our praise in the day of our triumph. It
watches us particularly, let us watch it filially ; and
since every creature is that to us that God makes it
to be, let our thanks pass through the instruments
to the great Author of all our salvation.
2. The goodness of God must in a particular man-
ner be acknowledged, as that in which all our
springs are, and from which all our streams flow.
We must take notice, not only of his wisdom and
power in effecting things great and admirable in
themselves, but his goodness and mercy in doing
that which is happy and advantageous for us ; and
make that the burthen of all our songs, For he is
good, and his mercy endurethfor ever ; a short song,
7 Ho9. ii. 8.
b Judg viii. 34, 35.
« Job xil. 9.
e Ps. CXXl. I.
a 1 Cor. i. 31.
d Judg. V. 3,
738
ENGLAND'S JOYS.
but highly honoured, when it was upon the singing
of these words, that the glory of the Lord took pos-
session of Solomon's temple.*
When we consider what an unworthy people we
are, how ungrateful we have been for God's former
favours, and what unsuitable returns we have made,
we have reason to admire God's goodness, above all
his attributes, in the repetition and progress of his
blessings ; for he is good to the evil and unthankful.
If England's God and Saviour had not been a God
of infinite mercy, God and not man, in pardoning
sin, we had been ruined long since : but his good-
ness is his glory, and it is ours ; in it, the power of
the Lord is great, according as he hath spoken/
Acts of justice to the church's enemies are acts of
goodness to her friends. When he that is mighty
doth g^'eat things, and scatters the proud in the imagi-
nation of their hearts, it is in remembrance of his
mercy y — and his mercy therein is on them that fear
him from generation^ to generation. O that men
would therefore praise the Lord for his goodness !
Lord, thou art good, and dost good, and thou, there-
fore, dost good, because thou art good, not for any
merit of ours, but for the honour of thy own mercy.
3. These blessings which flow from the goodness
of God have crowned this year; he in them has
crowned it That word shall lead us into the detail
of those favours, which we are thiis day to take
notice of, with thankfulness, to the glory of God. A
crown signifies three things, and each will be of use
tons. (1.) It dignifies and adorns. (2.) It surrounds
and encloses. And, (3.) It finishes and completes.
And accordingly this year has been dignified, sur-
rounded, and finished with the blessings of God's
goodness.
(1.) God hath dignified this year with his good-
ness. A crown denotes honour. Heaven itself,
which is perfect holiness in everlasting honour, is
often represented by a crown ; a crown of glory
which fadeth not away : and a year of honour this
has been to our land ; the children that shall be born
will call it so.
Surely the English nation never looked greater,
nor made a better figure, among the nations than it
does at this day. Never did it appear more for-
midable to its enemies, nor more acceptable to its
friends ; never were the eyes of Europe more upon
its counsels; never was its alliance more courted
and valued, nor its influences upon all its confede-
rates more powerful and benign ; never was English
conduct and English courage more admired, nor
our English Jerusalem more a praise in the earth.
Would to God our goodness grew in proportion to our
greatness ; (and that would be both the advancement
and security of our greatness ;) and that when God,
as he promised Israel, mahes us high in praise, and
• 2 Chron. v. 13. f Numb. xit. |7. . r Luke 1. 49, 50.
in name, and in honour, this might be the fruit of it,
that (as it follows there) we might be a holy people to
the Lord our Godf^ that while our forces, and those
of our allies, are triumphing over the common enemy
of Europe abroad, giving us occasion for one thanks-
giving-day after another, virtue and serious godliness
might triumph — over vice and profaneness, impiety
and immorality, those common enemies of mankind
— at home ; that the pious proclamation of our gra-
cious queen, and her other endeavours for the sup-
pression of vice, and the support of religion, may
not be frustrated ; that all our other glories may be
made substantial, and may be established — to us,
and those that shall come after us, by that righteous-
ness which exalteth a nation; and may not be
withered by sin, which is a reproach to any people,
especially to ours.
Two crowns are at this day the honour of our
English nation, and for both we are highly indebted
to the divine goodness: The imperial crown of
government at home ; and the triumphal crown of
victory abroad.
[1.] The imperial crown of government at home is
our honour and joy, and that by which we have a
great deal of reason to value ourselves, and for
which we have no less reason to be thankful to God,
who because he loved our land,* and his thoughts
concerning us were thoughts of good, and not of
evil, to give us an expected end,^ set such a govern-
ment over us.
Which of all the crowns of Europe can pretend
to outshine the English diadem at this day, which is
as the sun when it goes forth in its strength ? The
flowers of our crown are not — ^like his on the other
side of the water, who would be called the king of
glory — gathered out of the spoils of ruined rights
and liberties of the subjects, nor stained, like his,
with righteous blood. The jewels of our crown are
not got by fraud and rapine from injured neigh-
bours ; not, like his, seized by an unrighteous war,
and a deceitful peace, in a bold and impudent
defiance of all that is honourable, just, and sacred :
no, the flowers and jewels of our crown are its oun
against all the world ; none of all our neighbours
has any demand upon us. Mercy and truth are the
splendour of our crown, and justice and righteous-
ness the never-failing supporters of our throne. The
globe and sceptre, that is, the wealth and power, of
the English sovereign, are both equitable beyond
dispute, — whd, therefore, may justly assume that
motto, and abide by it, Je mien tiendrai — / wiU hold
my own.
How happy, how very happy, is the constitution of
our government! sueh as effectually secures both
the just prerogatives of the prince, and the just pro-
perties of the subject; so that no good prince can
\\ Deut. xzvi. 19.
i 9 Chron. ix. 1.
k Jer. uux. 11.
ENGLAND'S JOYS.
739
dedre to be greater, nor any good subject desire to
be easier, than the constitution of onr govemroent
proTides ; for which, we may jastly be the envy of
all our neighbours ; and in wfaidh, we ourselves
OQgfat to take the greatest satisfaction, sitting down
with delight under the shadow of it. If there be
any who are ^en io change^ I am sure we have no
reason to nuddU with them, O my soul, come not
tkou into their secret. The ancient landmarks,
which our fathers have set, and which the patriots
of our own age have confirmed, are so well placed,
that in kindness to posterity, as well as in honour
to antiquity, we have reason to pray they may
never be remoTed.
Thus bright does the crown of England shine :—
yet this is not all the honour of our day. We have
farther to add, that the head that wears this crown,
reflects more honour to it, than it borrows from it. A
tnie Deborah, a mother in Israel, a prudent, care-
ful, tender mother to the Israel of God ; one who
entirely seehs the welfare of our people, speaking peace
to all their seed ; who is herself a great pattern of
virtue and piety, and a pattern of it in her realms ;
whose conduct is as pure and unexceptionable, as
her title is clear and incontestable. It is with very
good reason that we do so often in our religious
assemblies bless God ** for her, and for her wise
and good government, and the tranquillity we enjoy
under the protection and influences of it.''
Far be it from me to give Jlattering titles unto man
any where, especially in this place ; in so doing my
Maker would soon take me away ; ^ but from a deep
conviction of God's goodness to us, and to our land,
in the present government, I think it is my duty, as
a minister, to stir up myself and you, thankfully to
acknowledge it to the glory of our Lord Jesus, the
eternal wisdom of the Father, by whom kings and
queens reigm, and princes decree justice ; and as the
performance of that promise which is made to the
gospel church. Kings shall be her nursing^fathers,
end queens her nursing^mothers. Faithful is he who
has promised.
I find it related concerning that holy, good man,
Mr. Richard Greenham, who lived and died in the
glorious reign of Queen Elizabeth, that *' He much
rejoiced and praised God for the happy government
of that princess, and for the blessed calm and peace
of God's church and people under it; and spake
often of it both publicly and privately, as he was
occasioned, and stirred up the hearts of all men
what he conid, to pray, and to praise God with him
for it continually ; yea, this matter so afiected him,
that the day before he died his thoughts were much
troubled, for that men were so unthankful for her
happy deliverance from the conspiracies of the
typists against her." And I am sure we have no
k Job zzxll. 29.
3 b2
less reason to be thankful for the good government
we are under, but much more ; so far does the copy
go beyond the original.
The happiness of the nation in the present minis-
try, the prudence of our counsellors, the confessed
fidelity of those in public trusts, the harmony and
good understanding between the queen and the two
Houses, and their mutual confidence in each other,
and that between the Houses, with the triumphs of
catholic charity over bigotry on all sides, ought to
be taken notice of by us with all thankfulness, to the
glory of that God who has thus crowned us with thf)
blessings of goodness.
And, lastly, the project set on foot for the uniting
of the two imperial crowns in one, that England and
Scotland, like Judah and Ephraim,* may become
one stick in the hand of the Lord, which our wise
men think will add greatly to the strength, wealth,
and honour of this land, is one of the blessings with
which this year has been crowned ; though the per-
fecting of it is reserved to be the crown of another
year, as we hope the good efiiects of it will crown the
years of many generations, and posterity will for it
call this reign blessed.
[2.] The triumpbal crown of victory abroad is
likewise the honour and joy of our land at this day.
What a series of successes has this year been
crowned with ! and how glorious will the history of
it appear in the book of the wars of the Lord, what
he did in ■> Flanders, what in Spain, what in Italy !
However it shall please God for the future to deal
with us, here we must set up our Ebenezer, and sayi
Hitherto the Lord luith helped us.
It was a clear and glorious victory which opened
the campaign in Flanders, when we scarce knew
that the armies had taken the field, and which,
through the good hand of our God upon us, was well
improved. It was a happy turn that was given to
our affairs at Barcelona, which if it might have been
better improved afterwards, ought not to make us
unthankful to God for the good footing then and
there gotten. In these and other instances, the
righteous God has pleaded our righteous cause, and
given judgment for us.
And a righteous cause it is ; it is requisite that we
be clear in this, that we may make our prayers, in-
tercessions, and giving of thanks, fpr its prosperity
and success, in faith. Something it may not be im-
proper for me to say to make it out, for the help of
those of you who are not capable of getting better
information.
Judge therefore within yourselves ;
(i.) Is not that a righteous war, which is under-
taken for the asserting the rights of injured nations,
and the securing of the common interests of Europe?
It is in the necessary defence of these that we
1 Exek. xxxvli. 19.
Numb. xxi. 14.
(740
ENGLAND'S JOYS.
appear, and act at this day, in conjunction with oar
allies, against the exorbitant power and boundless
ambition of France, which must be reduced, which
must be repressed, or we and our neighbours, we
and our posterity, cannot be safe.
When proud and haughty men will aim at an uni-
versal monarchy, will oblige every sheaf to bow to
theirs, will command the territories and treasures of
all their neighbours; that they may be placed alone
in the midst of the earth ;" it is necessary to the pub-
lic safety, and is for the honour of God, as King of
nations, that a check be given to their rage. Here
shall thy proud waves he stayed, which by aiming at
universal monarchy, threaten an universal deluge.
He who, like Isbmael, has his hand against every
man, must have every man's hand against him, and
can expect no other.
War among the nations, is like the administration
of justice in a particular community, it is a revenger
to execute wrath upon him who does wrong f it is
a terror to evil-doers, and a protection of right
There are no courts of justice in which an unright-
eous king and kingdom may be impleaded, and by
whose sentence restitution may be awarded, the in-
jured righted, and wrong-doers punished: the court
of Heaven therefore must be appealed to by the
drawing of the sword of war, when gentler methods
have been tried in vain : for it must be the ratio
ultima reguiHf — the dernier resort of injured nations.
In this supreme court Jephtha thus lodges his appeal,
Tlie Lord^ the Judge, be Judge this day between the
children of Israel and the children of Atnmc/n,^ And
the final determination of these appeals, no doubt,
will be according to equity ; for he who sits in the
throne judgeth right : though the righteous cause
\% not always crowtied with victory at first, witness
the war between Israel and the Benjamite8,<i yet
great is the truth, and will prevail at last See Job
XX. 15.
The expense of blood and treasure must not be
grudged, when it is necessary for the settling the
balance of power, the securing of the just rights of
nations, and the cutting off of those horns with which
they have been wounded and scattered.'
And the case. is very much strengthened, when
acts of violence and injustice are maintained by
treachery, and a perfidious violation of oaths and
leagues ; when the public faith of princes and states
is pawned in vain, and the most sacred cords by
which conscience should be held, are snapt in sun-
der like Samson's bonds, only because a man thinks
himself a Samson for strength : and this not once
or twice, but often, then it is time to draw the sword
to avenge the quarrel of the covenant. If a man
despise an oath, and break through that, when lo,
he hath given his hand. As 1 live, says the Lord, he
!<■ . I
a Isa. V. 8. • Rom. xiii. 4. p Judg. x1. 27.
shall not escape, but it shall surely be f'ecompensed
upon that faithless head.* War is an appeal to
God's providence, as the Lord of hosts, against
those who would not abide by an appeal to his ordi-
nance, as the God of truth.
(ii.) Is not that a righteous war, which is under-
taken in defence of the particular interests of our
nation ? If we had not helped our neighbours to
quench the fire in their borders, we know not how
soon it might have been kindled in our own bowels,
and it might have been out of the power of our hands
to extinguish it, and to prevent the ruin of all that
is dear to us. It is for our people, and the cities of
our God, that we engage in this war ; self-preserva-
tion requires it.
How can we be safe, how can we sit still uncon-
cerned, while so formidable a neighbour as France
has been, not only harbours, but espouses, the caase,
and aims at the establishment, of one who pretends
to our crown, sets up a title, and makes an interest
against the best of governments, and manifestly de-
signs the ruin of our religion, rights, and liberties*
and all we have that is valuable ? How can we do
otherwise, who must write after a French copy, and
be governed by French counsels ?
Did the wisdom of the nation find it requisite lo
oblige us, by an oath, not only to be faithful to the
present government, but to maintain the succession
as it is established in the protestant line ; (which
we pray God late to bring in, but long to continue,
that it may prove a successful expedient, for the
extinguishing of the hopes of our popish adversaries,
and all their aiders and abettors ;) and is it not the
duty, as well as interest, of the nation, in pursuance
to that engagement, to take all possible precaution
for the fortifying our bulwarks against every attempt
upon that establishment? There is no man that has
sincerely abjured the Pretender, but he must in good
earnest pray against his supporters.
Well ! this is the cause, the just and honourable
cause, in which our banner is displayed ; for the
prosperity of which we have often prayed ; and in
the good success of which we are this day rejoicing,
as that which is very much the honour of this year.
If in any places which we are concerned for, there
have been some losses, and disappointment8,'-or
advances not so quick as we were apt to promise
ourselves,— those need not surprise or perplex us :
in genera], the progress of our arms has been very
considerable, beyond what we could reasonably
have expected, and likely to turn greatly to our ad-
vantage.
2. God has surrounded this year with his goodness,
compassed and enclosed it on every side. So we trans-
late the same word, (Ps. v. 12.) With favour wtlt
thou compass (or crown) him as with a shield. He has
q Judg. XX.
r Zech. i. 31.
t Ezek. xvii. 18, 19-
ENGLAND'S JOYS.
741
given as instances of his goodness in every thing
that concerns ns ; so that turn which way we will,
we meet with the tokens of his favour ; every part of
the year has been enriched with the blessings of
heaven, and no g^p has been left open for any deso-
lating judgment to enter by. A hedge of protection
and peculiar enclosure has been made about us on
eveiy side, and has been to us as the crown to the
head ; so entirely have we been begirt by it, and
amforttd on everif side,t
Let us observe some instances of that goodness
^hich has gone through the year.
(1.) It has been a year of peace and tranquillity at
home, even while we have been engaged in war
abroad ; as, thanks be to God, the years past have
been. The God of peace makes peace in our borders ;°
securing us from foreign invasions upon our borders,
and domestic insurrections within our borders ; and
blessing the care of those, who under him are the
oonservatois of our peace. We ought to be so much
the more sensible of this mercy, and thankful for it,
because so many other countries in Europe are at
this time the seat of war. When we read in the
public intelligences of the ruin of cities by long
sieges, the patting of all to the sword, and the de-
vastations made in those countries where armies are
encamped, let as take occasion to bless God that
it is not so in oar land. We hear, indeed, of wars,
aod nimoars of wars, in other countries ; but at so
great a distance, that they create no horror or incon-
lenience to us. What a consternation was the pro-
phet Jeremiah himself put into by the noise of war ?
MyboweUy my bowels ^ 1 am pained at my very hearty
httauM0 thou hast heard^ O my soul, the sound of the
trumpet, the alarm of war,^ Thanks be to God, we
are not acquainted with those frights, we see not
those desolations of fire and sword, we hear not the
thundering noise of the instruments of war, that
breathe threatenings and slaughter.* How pleasant
is the noise of yonder great guns, now they are pro-
claiming our Yictories, and celebrating our triumphs,
and as it were discharging war out of our kingdom !
Bat how dreadful would it be, how would it make
our ears to tingle, and our hearts to tremble, if the
noise came from the batteries of an enemy, and every
shot carried with it a messenger of death flying
swiftly !
The peace we enjoy is the comfort of our lives, the
security of oar estates, and the protection both of the
cifil and sacred adminstrations. War is an inter-
ruption to the course of justice, and a disturbance
to its courts, an obstruction to the progress of the
ivord of God, and a terror to religious assemblies :
but, blessed be God, both are held among us with-
out fear : on all our glory this is a defence ;* and
' ' _— ^— ^— ^^-. ,11-. I
t Pii Uxi. 21. o Ps. cxWii. 14. T Jer. iv. 19.
* Jost as these word* were q>oken, it happened that the can-
non of ibe castle began to be discharged ;n honour of the day,
this makes our English Jerusalem a quiet habitation,
and the cities of our solemnities doubly pleasant to
us.' To this we owe it, that the highways are not
unoccupied, that the plains are not deserted, and
that our cities remain in their strength. We are
delivered from the noise of archers, at the places of
drawing water : here, therefore, let us rehearse the
righteous acts of the Lord, even his righteous acts to-
wards the inhabitants of his villages in Israel J
Thanks be to God, it is with us at this day, as it
was with Judah and Israel in Solomon's time, when
they dwelt safely, every man under his own vine,
and under his own fig-tree,' and the property of
them not questioned or invaded ; what we have we
can call our own ; and the enjoyment of them not dis-
turbed or imbittered to us. God grant, that security
and sensuality may not be the ill effects of so good a
cause, as our long peace and tranquillity !
(2.) It has been a year of plenty, and abundance
of the increase of the earth. Though we of this
country were threatened, and somewhat incommoded,
by unseasonable and excessive rains in the time of
harvest, (and it has been observed, that our land,
unlike to Canaan, is in danger of suffering by too
much rain more than by too little,) yet in wrath
God remembered mercy, and our corn was not tahen
away, as it might have been, tn the season thereof; but
our markets are full, and a kind Providence does
abundantly bless our provisions, and satisfies our
poor with bread,* if any thing will satisfy them. It
is a pity this should be complained of as a grievance
by the seller, which is so great a blessing to the
buyer; and that some expedient or other is not
found oat, in imitation of Joseph's prudence, to
keep the balance somewhat even between them ; that
he who sells his corn, may neither have cause to
complain of plenty, nor he who buys the bread, of
scarcity.
Whatever complaints bad hearts may make of
bad times, the scarcity of money, and the burthen of
taxes, and the like ; those who know the world better
than I do, observe, ** that whatever there are in
France, in England there are no visible marks of
poverty ; nor any sign to be seen, either in building
or furniture^ either in food or clothing, no, nor in
the alehouse or the tavern, (where, one would think,
money, if scarce, should first be spared,) of the decay
of our trade, and the expense of the war being in-
supportable.''
(3.) It should seem to have been a year too of
more trade than one would have expected, consider-
ing the war. Numerous fleets of merchantmen are
come in,, and our surrounding ocean is not only as
a strong wail to us, but as a rich mine ; so that, with
Zebulun, we such of the abundance of t lie seas, and of
ivithin hearing of our aasembly, which occasioned the rollowing
remark. w laa. iv. 5. * Isa. xxxiii. 20.
7 Judg V. II. * I Kings iy. 25. • Ps cxxxii. I\
742
ENGLAND'S JOYS.
treasures hid in the sand.^ If it be complained of
that we lose more ships of trade to the enemy than
they to us, it must be considered, that suppose the
matter of fact be so, the reason is because we have
more to lose, abundantly more, and more valuable.
May our merchandise, and our hire, be holiness to
the Lord,* that a blessing may rest upon it, as it will
if we consecrate our gain unto the Lord, and our
substance to the Lord of the whole earth.'
(4.) It has been a year of constant opportunities
for our souls, and plenty of the means of grace.
This, this is that which crowns the year with God's
goodness more than any thing. The greatest honour
of our land is, that God's tabernacle is among us,
the Lord is known, his name is great. This makes
it beautiful for situation, and the joy of the whole
. earth, and to us whose lot is cast in it, a pleasant
land indeed: that we are a Christian nation, a
protestant nation ; That we have plenty of Bibles
in a language we understand, and not only that we
may read them without danger of the inquisition,
but that we have them read to us, have stewards of
God's house among us, to break to us this bread of
life. Our eyes see our teachers, and they are not
removed into comers ; and the word of the Lord is
not, in respect of scarcity, precious in our days ; but
we have open vision. God makes known his statutes
and judgments to us, and has not dealt so with other
nations. Our fleece is wet with the dew of heaven,
while theirs is dry. It is our religion that is our
glory ; it is the fear of the Lord that is our treasure ;
it is God himself that is our crown and diadem of
beauty."
The sabbaths of the year are the crown of it. The
Jews called the sabbath their Queen : and the crown
of our sabbaths is our solemn assemblies, which wc
have had the comfort of throughout the year, through-
out the land, without interruption, in the stated times
appointed for them ; it is that we have Moses and
the prophets, Christ and the apostles, read in our
synagogues every sabbath day.' It is a comfort to
us, when we come together to worship God, that we
do it not only in the fear of God, and in the faith
of Christ, but in a spiritual communion, with all
that in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ
our Lord, both theirs and ours ; that we worship the
same God, in the same name, by the same rule of
the written word, under the conduct of the same
spirit, and in expectation of the same blessed hope.
But our communion with the religious assemblies of
our own land, both those by the legal establishment,
and those by the legal toleration, is, in a particular
manner, comfortable to us. Our brethren's services
to God and his church who move in a higher and
larger sphere, we rejoice in, and heartily wish well
to ; and think we have a g^eat deal of reason to be
b Deal, xzxiii. 19.
c laa. xxiii. 16.
d Mic. iv. 13.
thankful also, both to God and the govemmenty for
the continuance of our own liberties and opportu-
nities, which we desire always to be found quiet
and peaceable, humble and charitable, in the use of,
and diligent and faithful in the improvement of, for
the glorifying of God, and the working out of oar
own salvation.
Thus has the year been surrounded with the fruits
of God's goodness, and we have been compassed
with songs of deliverance. In consideration whereof,
let us be constant and universal in our obedience
to God, steady and uniform in our returns of duty
to him, whose compassions to us are so, and never
fail.
3. God has crowned, that is, he hath finished, this
year with his goodness. The happy issue of an
affair we call the crown of it ; and the close of this
year's actions may well be looked upon as the beauty
of the whole year, the crown of the whole work ; of
which his favour has both laid the foundation, and
brought forth the top-stone wi0i shouting.
In the beginning of the year, God did remarkably
precede us with the blessing of his goodness ;' met
us with a victory early in the morning of the cam-
paign, before we were well awake, which left room
for the doing of a good day's work in prosecution of
it. Yet we rendered not according to the benefit
done unto us ; for which he might justly have turned
his hand against us, and have made the latter end
of the year, by some fatal disgrace or disappoint-
ment, to have undone what had been done so glo-
riously in the beginning of the year, so that we
might have been obliged to conclude the year with
a fast : but he has not dealt with us according to our
sins; the same powerful and gracious hand that
went before us then, crowns us now with honour
and joy ; the end of the year is of a piece with the
beginning; and, in answer to our prayers on the
last thanksgiving day, he has favoured us with an-
other feast and a good day, in which we have light,
and gladness, and joy, and honour. Thus is God
known by his name Jehovah, a finishing God, a
Rock whose work is perfect; and thus are we
admonished, when we have begun in the spirit, not
to end in the flesh.
Two things crown this year, and make the con-
clusion of it great ; and both must be attributed to
the goodness of God :
(I.) The successes of our allies abroad ; the won-
derful relief of Turin, and the ref^toration of that
excluded prince to his capital, when his affairs were
reduced to the last extremity, and the enemy was
confident of carrying the day. And that this should
be but one day's work, but two or three hours' action.
This is such a loss and mortification to our adver-
saries, and the consequences of it, in Italy, of such
« ba. xxviii. &
f Acu xiii. 37.
ir Ps. xxl. X
ENGLAND'S JOYS.
743
vast advantage to our allies, and likely to be more
so ; that the year mast be acknowledged to end as
honourably and happily as it began. This is the
Lor^s doing /
That which magnified the mercy in the beginning
of the year, was, that our expectations were in it
anticipated ; that which magnifies this in the end of
the year, is, that our expectations in it were far out-
done. In that, God was better to us than our hopes ;
in this, than our fears ; in both, than our deserts.
(2.) The unanimity of our counsels at home. The
presence of God is as much to be observed and own-
ed in the congregation of the mighty, and judging
among the gods^ as in the high places of the field,
determining the issues of war, and turning the ho-
vering scale of victory. It is he who gives a spirit
of judgment to them who sit in council, as well as
strength to them that turn the battle to the gate :* and
in this matter, he who has all hearts in his hands,
who made man's mouth, the hearing ear and the
seeing eye, has done well for us, and crowned the
year.
All who undertake to give the sense of the nation,
or of any part of it, the lords, the commons, the
convocation, all agree to admire the present happy
postare of our afiairs, and the flourishing state of the
kingdom under this government, and in this con-
juncture. Never did the English nation appear to
be so universally easy, so pleased, so entirely satis-
fied in the public management and administration.
Happy art thou, O England, who is lihe unto thee, O
people f Never was such a hearty zeal discovered for
the common cause of our religion and liberties,
against the threatening power of France ; nor were
ever the necessary supports of that cause given so
speedily, so cheerfully, and with such expressions of
a willingness to continue them, till it be in our power
to oblige that perfidious foe to such a just and ho-
nourable peace, as it shall not be in his power to vio-
late. In a word, the temper and good affection of
the nation at this day, seems not unlike that of the
people of Israel, when Solomon dismissed them from
the feast of dedication. They blessed the king, and
vent unto their tents, joyful and glad of heart, for all
the goodness that the Lord had done for David his ser-
wint, and for Israel his people, 1 Kings viii. 66. Long
— and ever — may it be so !
Ministers (I know) are the unfittest persons, and
the pulpit the unfittest place, in the world, to talk of
state affairs in. Yon know it is not my practice ;
and I am sure I am most in my element when I am
preaching Jesus Christ and him crucified. But I
would endeavour to do the work of every day in its
day, according as the duty of the day requires ; and
on such occasions as these, one had as good say
nothing, as nothing to the purpose ; and therefore,
k Pb. izxxu. 1. < lia. xzYilt. & k Rev. iv. 10. i Ps. xxiii. 3.
though I am not so well versed in the public afiairs
as to be particular in my remarks, nor such a master
of language as to be fine in them ; yet the hints I
have given you of God's favours to our land at this
day, and the great goodness with which the year we
are now concluding has been crowned, will serve to
answer in some measure my intention, (and it is no
other than what becomes a minister of the gospel,)
which is, to excite your thankfulness to so good a
God, and to confirm your affections to, and satisfac-
tion in, so good a government : and therefore, I hope,
you will neither think them impertinent, nor find
them altogether unprofitable.
III. Application.
That which remains, is to make some improve-
ment of our observations concerning that goodness
with which God has crowned this year, that we may
go away (as we should aim to do from every sermon)
some way wiser and better.
1. Has God thus crowned the year? Let us cast
all the crowns of it at his feet, by our humble, grate-
ful acknowledgments of his infinite wisdom, power,
and mercy. What we have the joy of, let God have
the praise of The blessed spirits above cast their
crowns before the throne,'' and that is the fittest place
for all our crowns. Let praise continue to wait on
him, who, though he be attended with the praises
of angels, yet is pleased to inhabit the praises of
Israel.^ Let our closets and families witness to our
constant pious adorations of the divine greatness,
and devout acknowledgments of the divine goodness
to us, and to our land ; that evety day may be with
us a thanksgiving day, and we may live a life of
praise, that work of heaven. David did so. Every
day will I bless thee ;» nay, almost every hour in the
day. Seven times a day will I praise thee.^
God must have the glory, particularly of all our
victories ; and every monument of them must be
sacred to the Eternal Lord, rather than to the eter-
nal memory of any man : nor ought the most merito-
rious and distinguished actions of the greatest heroes
to be registered, without some acknowledgment to
that supreme Numen — Deity, whose universal and
overruling providence, guided their eyes, strength-
ened their arms, and covered their heads. All peo-
ple will thus walh in the name of their God,^ and shall
not we ? If Amaiek be subdued, the memorial of it
is an altar, not a triumphal arch ; and is inscribed
to the honour not of Moses or Joshua, but of God
himself, Jehovah nissi — The Lord my banner.
In this, both our illustrious sovereign, and her
great general, are examples to the nation ; (and, as
much as in other things, do real honour to it by doing
honour to the religion of it ;) That from him in the
la P&CXIV. 3.
> Ps. cxix. i^
o Mic. iv. 5.
744
ENGLAND'S JOYS.
camp, immediately upon the obtaining of a victory,
and from her in the church, in due time after, and
from both, in the most solemn manner, the incense
of praise ascends to the glory of God, as the God of
our salvation. Theses who thus honour God, no
doubt, he will yet further honour ; and make those
crowns, those coronets, to shine yet more bright,
which are thus laid at his feet, with Not unto im, O
Lord, not unto us, bvt to thy name give glory.
If we be remiss to ascribe the praise of our achieve-
ments to God, we provoke him to turn his hand
against us, and by some judgment or other to dis-
train for the rent which is not duly paid. When
Samson had with the jaw-bone of an ass laid a
thousand Philistines dead upon the spot, he seems
to take the praise of the performance too much to
himself, and to overlook the arm that strengthened
him, when he called the place Ramath-lehi — the lift-
ing up of the jaw-bone ;p and, therefore — ^by a very
afflictive thirst which seized him immediately after,
and drove him to his prayers — God reduced his
pride, and made him know his own weakness, and
dependence upon God, and obliged him to give a
new name to the place, Enhakkore — the well of him
that criedy^ not of him that conquered. The more
thankful we are for former mercies, the better pre-
pared we are for further mercies.
2. Has God thus crowned the year ? Let not us
then profane our crown, nor lay our honour in the
dust, by our unworthy walking. Let the goodness
of God lead us to repentance, and engage us all to
reform our lives and families, to be more watchful
against sin, and to abound more in the service of
God, and in every thing that is virtuous and praise-
worthy. Then, and then only, we offer praise, so as
indeed to glorify God, when we order our conversa-
tion aright ; and then shall we be sure to see his
great salvation, and be for ever praising him.
It does indeed give both a damp to our joy, and a
shock to our hopes, at this day, that notwithstanding
the great things God has done for us there is yet
so much wickedness to be found among us ; so much
impiety, so much immorality ; and both arising from
practical atheism and infidelity, and accompanied
with a contempt of religion and sacred things.
What shall we say to these things ? It is some en-
couragement to us to hear, as we do by some, that
through the pious care of the general, there is a ma-
nifest reformation of manners in the army ; vice dis-
countenanced, and virtue in reputation ; God grant
it may be more and more so I it would be the happi-
est omen of any other. It is likewise to be rejoiced
in, that there are national testimonies borne against
vice and profaneness, and national endeavours used
for the suppressing of it ; which we heartily pray
God both to give success to, and graciously to accept
of, that the wickedness which is not prevented^ yet
may not be laid to the charge of the land, nor bring
judgments upon the community.
But it is our duty to lament the wickedness of the
wicked; to sigh and cry for the abominations that
are found among us ; to witness against them in our
places ; and, so, to keep ourselves pure from them,
and to do our utmost by our prayers and endeavours
to bring the wickedness of the vricked to an end.
And thus we may prevent the mischief of it to the
nation, and empty the measure which others are
filling, that there may be a lengthening out of our
tranquillity.
Now we are reviewing with thankfulness the mer^
cies of the year past, let us at the same time re-
flect with sorrow and shame upon the sins of the
year past ; our own sins, I mean, for it is enough
for us to judge ourselves. The year has been full
of goodness on God's part, but very empty on oars.
He has not been as a barren wilderness to us, or as
waters that fail ; but we have been so to him, very
careless and defective in our duty, and in many in-
stances we have come short.
Our time has been mispent, our opportunities
not improved ; God has come this year seeking fruit
among us, but how little has he found ! God brings
our years to an end, as a History that is written,
so substantial and valuable are the gifts of his fa-
vour to us ; but we bring our years to an end as a
tale that is told,*" so idle, and trifling, and insignifi-
cant are we in our carriage toward him.
4. Let God's goodness to us engage, and increase,
our g^dness to one another: it is justly expected,
that they who obtain mercy should show mercy, and
so reflect the rays of the divine goodness upon all
about them ; being herein followers of God as dear
children ;* followers of him that is goody^ in his good-
ness.
Let God's goodness to us constrain us, as we have
opportunity, to do good to all men ; to do good with
what we have in the world, as faithful stewards of
the manifold grace of God ; (charity must crown a
thanksgiving day ;) to do good with all the abilities
God gives us, remembering that the manifestation
of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
Let it particularly incline us to do good to those
from whose sentiments ours differ in the less weighty
matters of the law. This I would take all occasions
to press upon myself and others, pursuant to the
great royal law of charity. There is an infinite dis-
tance between God and us, and a just controversy
he has with us, and yet he is kind to us, and does us
good ; and cannot we then be kind to one another,
and do all good ofiices one to another, notwithstand-
ing the matters in variance between us? How ill
does it become us to bear a grudge to any of the
P Judg. XV. 17.
q Judg. XV. 19.
r Pb. xc. 0. • Eph. V. 1. t 1 Pet iii. 13.
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
745
cbildreo of oar people, or wish ill to any, who are
every day and every year crowned with the good-
ness of God, and are, and hope to be, forgiven of
bim ! Let not oar eye be evil one toward another,
II hen God's eye is so good toward as all, and he does
thin^rs for as, which we all come in for a share of
the benefit of, and are all this day giving thanks for.
Let our common saccess against our enemies abroad,
help to stay all enmities at home ; and let all our
coDSciences be able to witness for us, that we walk in
2or(, and keep ike unitff of tke ipirit.
4. et uU, Let this year's experience help to sap-
port and encoarage next year's expectations. Has
God crowned as with his goodness this year? let as
thence infer, that if we approve ourselves faithful to
God, surely goodness and mercy shall still follow us.
And our hopes ought to be the matter of our praises
as well as our joys. Unto tkee do we give tkankt,
(sajs the Psalmist,) unto tkee do we give thanks ; for
that thy name is nemr, thy wondrous works declare,^
The wondroos works we are this day giving thanks
for. are upon this account the more valuable, that
they give as ground to hope, that God's name is near^
—the advancement of his kingdom, — and, in that,
the accomplishment of his promise. That compre-
hensive prayer, Fat her ^ glorify tky name^ has already
obtained an answer from heaven, — which true be-
lievers may apply to themselves, — / have both glori-
fied I'r, and I will glorify it again," Amen, so be it
Hallehijah.
ENGLAND'S HOPES;
A SERMON.
PREACHED
JANUARY THE FIRST, 17067.
Isaiah Ixiii. 4.
The year of my redeemed is come,
A NEW year is now come. The common compliment
of the morning is, ** I wish you a good new year ; "
^ it is well ; hearty well-wishers we ought to be
to iht welfare one of another. God by his grace
make us all wiser and better, and give us to live
better every year ; better this year than we did the
btst,— and then it will be indeed a good new year,
('ood hearts will make good times and good years.
Have any of yoa had any good purposes and re-
solutions in yoor minds, the prosecution whereof
Us hitherto been delayed ? put it off no longer. Is
B Fl Ixxv. 1.
• Exod. x\. 2.
▼ John xii. 38.
^ 2 Chron. xxlx. 17.
the house of Ood yet to be set np in your hearts, the
work to be begun? begin it to-day; as Moses did,
who, on the first day of the first month, set up the
tabernacle.* Are there things amiss with you to be
amended, corruptions to be purged out, and things
wanting to be set in order? begin this day to re-
fbrm ; as Hezekiah did, who, on the first day of the
first month, began to sanctify the house of the Lord:**
so will yon make this day in the best manner re-
markable, and this year comfortable.
But that which at present I aim at, is to direct yoa
— ^in wbhing a good year — ^to .the church of God,
and the kingdom of Christ in the world ; and, par-
ticularly, to the land of our nativity ; to the pros-
perity of which, in all its interests, I hope every one
of us bears a very hearty good-will, that in the peace
thereof we may have peace. For we are tnembers one
of another.
My text wonld easily lead me to foretell a good
year : but I am no prophet, nor prophet's son, nor
dare I ever pretend to prediction ; nor indeed, can
I give heed to any other but the most sure word of
prophecy in the written word, which is a light shin-
ing in a dark place.« Christ's parting words to his
disciples at his ascension, is sufficient to silence all
bold inquiries, and much more all presumptuous
determinations, concerning future events ; it is not
for you to know the times and the seasons, whick the
Father hath put in his own powers Astrological pre-
dictions I utterly condemn ; I hope you know better
things than to have any regard to them. The prophet
Isaiah speaks of the astrologers, the star-gazers, and
the monthly prognosticators, in his time, as great
cheats, that imposed upon the world. The heavens
declare the glory of God ;* and magnify the ro yvtirov
T8 Om, — that which is, and may be, known of God;
but were never intended to declare the will of God,'
or any of those secret things which belong not to lu.r
Scripture prophecies I have a profound veneration
for, and of admirable use they are to give us a gene-
ral idea of the methods of Providence concerning
the church, and to furnish us with a key to many of
the difficulties of it, and thereby to assist our faith
and hope in the worst of times. But the particular
intention and application of them, till the event un-
folds them, though I greatly value the labours of
those who searched into them, yet to me it seems
higher than heaven, what can we do ? deeper than hell,
what can we know ? It is what we cannot by searching
find out to perfection, or to satisfaction.
My design therefore, in the choice of this text to-
day, is not to gratify your curiosity with prognosti-
cations of what shall be ; but to direct your prayers
for the church of God, and to offer something for
the assistance of your faith in those prayers. For
we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying, I
c s^Pet i. 19.
f Rom. i. 19
d AcU i. 7. • Ps. six. I.
ff Deut. szix. 38l
746
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
remember the rule long since given me, with refer-
ence to the prospects of public affairs, and shall
still abide by it, ** Pray, pray; and do not prophesy."
We may be sure of an answer to the prayers of faith,
but not of the accomplishment of the predictions of
fancy.
Our Lord Jesus has taught us to pray : Our Father
who art in heaven ! thy hingdam come. And it is fit
we should take our instructions in prayer from him,
on whose intercession we depend for the success of
our prayers. Now when we pray, Father, let thy
kingdom come, this is one thing included in it, and
intended by it, Father^ let the year of the redeemed
come. Let this therefore be our heart's desire, and
our prayer to our heavenly Father, every day.
My text is part of that account which the victo-
rious Redeemer gives of his glorious appearances
against his and his church's enemies, represented by
the Edomites, whom he treads down in hit anger, and
tramples upon in his fury ;^ and, therein, appears
more glorious and excellent than the mountains of
prey> Come, and with an eye of faith see the
Lord Jesus, by his grace, triumphing— over sin and
corruption, and all the powers of Satan — in the
souls of believers, under whose feet he will shortly
tread that great enemy ,^ and make him their foot-
stool,! as he has made them his own. Come, and
see him, by his providence, triumphing over all
anticbristian powers and factions in the world ;
and all the maintainers and upholders of the devil's
kingdom; Pagan formerly, and Mahometan and
papal now : putting down all oppressing rule, prin-
cipality, and power, till he has completed his whole
undertaking. And upon the sight of this, let every
tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father. And if you ask, why
Michael and his angels push on this war so vigorously,
and at such a vast expense of blood and treasure ?
Michael himself shall answer you in the text. The
year of my redeemed is come ; even the day appointed
of the Father for this great performance ; that day
at which, as Mr. Norris expresses it in his paraphrase
on this passage, " Fate folded down the iron leaf."
Now the day prefixed is come, the work designed
must be done, whatever it costs: The Lord shall
arise and have mercy upon Sion;for the time to favour
her, yea, the set time, is eome,^
Let us observe here,
1. That the church and people of God are Christ's
redeemed, — the ransomed of the Lord; so they are
called in the promise, Isa. xxxv. 10. — the redeemed
of the Lord; so they are called upon to praise him,
Ps. cvii. 2. They are his own ; he is entitled to them,
as his own ; and as his own, they are very dear to
him. He formed them for himself. He bought them
for himself, and paid dear for them ; shed bis blood.
h Deut. xxix. 3
k Rom. xvi. 9.
t Ps. Ixxvi. 4.
I Ps. ex. 1.
his precious blood, to purchase them, and purify
them to himself; gave his life, an invaluable price,
a ransom for them. They were sold by the guilt of
sin, to the justice of God; had sold themselves, by
their affection to it, unto the dominion of Satan ;
but out of both these bonds Christ h as effectually pro-
vided for their discharge and deliverance.
He calls them, here, his redeemed — ^though as jet
their redemption was not wrought out, and obtained,
by the bringing in of the everlasting righteousness —
because he had undertaken to redeem them, and the
work would as surely be effected, in the fulness of
time, as if it were done already. Thus, when the
gospel was first preached in Corinth, and but few
of that place were effectually called, yet Christ said,
/ have much people in this cityJ^ They are mine
already ; for the Lord hnoweth them that are his, and
will lose none of them.
It is the honour of good people that they belong
to Christ :• they are his, and shall be owned as his
in that day when he makes up his jewels ; but they
have no reason to be proud of this honour, for, by
this, boasting is for ever excluded ; That they bad
not been his, if he had not bought them : they must
be redeemed ere they could be preferred. Where
is boasting then ? We are bought, and therefore still
bound ; bought with a price, and therefore must not
be our own, but his who bought us ; to him we must
live, and not to ourselves.
2. That there is a time fixed, concerning them,
which is the year of the redeemed ; when their
Redeemer will do great things for them. A year
which shall introduce a bright and glorious scene ;
which shall be crowned with their salvation. A
year of jubilee to them, (to which it seems to allude,)
when. they shall be discharged from their servitude,
and restored to the glorious liberty and inheritance
of the children of God; which will be indeed to them
the acceptable year of the Lord.
This is fixed, in the council and decree of God ;
which he has purposed in himself; and in which he
has determined all the times before appointed ; par-
ticularly the times concerning his church, which is
his garden enclosed, his Segullah, his peculiar trea-
sure in the world, about which his providence*
through all the revolutions of time, is in a special
manner conversant ; and therefore his purposes from
eternity were so. The affairs of the church were
not left to the disposal of blind chance. The wheels
on which it moves are animated by the spirit of the
living creature ;' and there are eyes in the wheels, a
wise providence that directs all for the best, accord-
ing to the divine will, and the settled counsels of
that will. The Eternal Mind never make! a tran-
sition to new measures, never takes up new resolves ;
hnowfi vnto God are all his works, and all ours too.
Ps cii. la
• Mait ix. 41.
B AcU xTiii. 10.
V Ezek. I 2a
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
747
the erents themselves, and the times of them, from
tie beifinnin^ of the world. Which yields an un-
speakable satisfaction to all those who have but so
much reasan and religion as to believe, that God
knows what is fit to be done, and when, better than
we do, and that his time is, without doubt, the best
time.
The providences of God concerning Israel of old,
as well as their ordinances, were typical ; and things
happened to them for ensmmples or patterns of the
great salvation to be wrought in and for the gospel-
cfaarch. Many a time was Israel afflicted, from
their youth up ; many a time in the house of bond-
age ; but still there was a year fixed for their re-
demption, vrhen their warfare or appointed time
should be accomplished,*! and deliverance should be
wrought for them. The year was fixed for their
redemption out of Egypt ; and God kept time to a
day ; A t the end of the four hundred and thirty yeo.rs,
ffCH the Meif-same day^ they went out triumphantly/
The year was likewise fixed for their return out of
tiicir captivity in Babylon ; when seventy years
«ere accomplished in the desolations of Jerusalem."
And the distresses of the New-Testament church
are in like manner limited to a iime^ times, and half
a time ; which, if we know not how to compute with
any certainty or exactness, yet, we may with the
neatest assurance infer from it,that Infinite Wisdom
ha^ fixed the time, though it is not for us to know
it. Times ore not hidden from the Almighty y though
(key thai hnow Aim do not as yet see Ids day,^ nor fore-
sec it,
3. That the year of the redeemed will come ; though
it may be long first, long wished for, long waited
for. yet it will come at last. Concerning the thing
itself, we may be clear, we may be confident,
though concerning the time we may be in doubt,
and in the dark. Though many years intervene
between this, and the year of the redeemed, and
those, perhaps, dark, and cloudy, and melancholy
Tears, years in which we see evil," yet the days of
afiliction and captivity will be numbered and finish-
ed, and the years of servitude will come to an end ;
hitherto it shall come, but no further; so long it
shall last, but no longer. God will have mercy on
Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, though he has had
indignation against them threescore and ten years ;''
and he will make them glad with the joys of his sal-
TTition, in some proportion to the days wherein he has
tjfiieted them.
Observe with what an air of triumph and exalt-
atioQ the Redeemer himself here speaks of this great
day ; as one who longed to engage the enemy, and
rescue the beloved of his soul, and who almost grew
impatient of the delay. He cannot anticipate the
*
^ laa. xL 2. r Exod. xU. 41. • Dan. ix. 3.
t Job xxir. 1. a Ps. xc. 15.
* Zeeh. i. IS. w Zech. vi. i.
time. The divine counsels are as mountains of
brass,* which can neither move nor moulder ; but
when the wheels of his chariot, which have been so
long in coming, arrive at last, how welcome are they !
Now the year of my redeemed is come ; it is come.
And, Loyleome, With this shout does the Lord himself
descend from heaven, ride upon the wings of the wind,*
and make the mountains flow at his presence.' With
this does the Lord awake himself as one out of sleep,
and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of
wine ;« The year of my redeemer is come. Now, XpwoQ
oiK t^ai in-— Time, that is, delay, shall he no longer.*
Now will I arise ; now shall the everlasting arm be
made bare. Now shalt thou see what I will do to
Pharaoh.
Now for the more distinct improvement of this,
let me apply it, both to the universal church of the
redeemed, the whole family, in every age ; and to
particular churches, and the interests of the king-
dom of Christ, in some special time and place.
(1.) Let me briefly apply it to the whole mystical
body of Christ, the universal church of the redeemed ;
in which we have cast our lot ; and hope to have a
place and a name in the general assembly of all
who belong to it And understanding it of this,
there are two which above all the rest may be called
the years of the redeemed ; one long since past, the
other yet to come.
[1.] The year of Christ's dying was the great year
of the redeemed, and that on which all the rest de-
pend ; from the salvation then wrought, the found-
ation was laid on which all the other more particular
salvations of the church are built Therefore, in the
Apocalypse, the Lamb that was to make war with the
beast, and to overcome him, appeared as a Lamb tliat
had been slain.^ And it is by the blood of the Lamb
that the victory is said to be obtained.' And many
understand the text of that year of the redeemed,
when Christ by death destroyed him who had the
power of death ; trod the winepress of his Father's
wrath alone, and stained all his raiment, both with
his own blood, and with the blood of his enemies.
Then was the price paid down ; upon the under-
taking of which, the great Redeemer was trusted
with the salvation of all the Old-Testament saints ;
and for which all who in every age believe in him
should be justified and accepted. Then the chosen
remnant was purchased, and eternal life purchased
for them ; then principalities and powers were
spoiled, and a show made of them openly;' the
strong man armed disarmed, stript, and triumphed
over. To that victory all the victories of faith are
owing; for we are more than conquerors through
him that loved us.
The time was fixed for this great and glorious
z Ps, xriii. 0, 10.
a Rev. X. 6.
c Rev. xii. II*
r laa. Ixiv. 3. « Ps. Ixxvili. 65.
b Rev. V. 6.
d Col. ii. lA.
748
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
achievement; fixed in that detenninate counsel and
fore-knowledge of God, by which that sacrifice was
delivered up; fixed in the Old-Testament predic-
tions, from that of the " Seed of the woman, which
should break the serpent's head,* " to that of* Messiah
the Prince, who at the period of the seventy weeks
should finish transgression, and make an end of sin,
by making reconciliation for iniquity, and bringing in
an everlasting righteousness.''* It was fixed to a day,
it was fixed to an hour : how often did Christ speak
of it with that exactness : Mine hour is not yet come,
and when it was come. This is your hour.
Long was it looked for by them who waited for
the redemption; 9 and more earnestly by him that
was to work out the redemption, who, having this
baptism to be baptized with, was even straitened till
it was accomplished.*^ It came at last : Blessed is he
that Cometh. And of all the years that God has
crowned with his goodness, that was, without doubt,
the greatest of all that every day and night measured
since the clock of time was set in motion. And
though they who were to have the benefit of the re-
demption slumbered and slept, and were not duly
sensible of the vast importance of what was then
doing till afterwards, when the Spirit was poured
out upon them, yet he that was to be at the ex-
pense of it, and foresaw how the great affair of
man's redemption — and, perhaps, the angel's confir-
mation— was to turn upon that mighty hinge, tri-
umphed and was transported, when he said in the
beginning of the battle. Now is my soul troubled, but
now is the judgment of this world; now is the prince
of this world cast out ;' and in the close of the battle,
when he knew what an irreparable blow be had
given to the devil's kingdom. It is finished.^ This
was that year of the redeemed which we frequently
celebrate the memorial of with joy, at the table of
the Lord.
[2.] The year of Christ's second coming to judge
the world, is that great year of the redeemed which is
yet to come ; that true Platonic year, which will
be, though not the repetition, yet the review and re-
tribution, of all that is past. And as in our ob-
servance of the great institution of the Eucharist,
that proprium — appropriate rite, of our holy religion,
and peculiar badge of our Christianity, we look as
far back as that year of the redeemed which is past,
showing forth the Lord's death ; so we look as far
forward as that year of the redeemed which we are
yet in expectation of, showing it forth till he come.
This year of the redeemed, which will be crowned
with the greatness of God, as other years have been
with his goodness, is fixed in the divine counsels ;
unalterably fixed, fixed to a day ; for he hath ap-
pointed a day, in which he will judge the world in
• Gen. iii. 15. fDan. ix.34. tLukeii. 3& hLukexii. 50.
1 John xii. 27. k John xli. 31. i Acta xvii. 31.
righteousness ; ' and a great and terrible day it will
be. God, by his grace, make us all ready for it, that
he who shall then appear may appear to our joy. It
is fixed, but it is not revealed ; it is not fit it should,
nor agreeable to that state of probation and expect-
ation we are now in. It is fixed, and it will come,
it will certainly come, to the unspeakable confusion
of all those who slight the warnings of it, and the
everlasting consolation of all those who embrace the
promise of it. As sure as this year is come, that
year wiU come, and you and I shall see it ; tjt our
flesh resumed we shall see it; shall see the tenors,
shall see the triumphs, of that day, and, according as
we are found then, shall certainly and eternally
share either in the one or in the other.
That, that will be the year of the redeemed ; in
which all our hopes and prospects, which in our
present state are still kept moving forward, one event
serving only to raise our expectation of the next,
will come to a full period. Then we shall see the
final end of all those things, which here we are so
solicitous and inquisitive about." And a blessed
end it will certainly be to all the redeemed of the
Lord; who will in that day lift up their heads and
hearts with joy, never to despond or be dejected
again, knowing that their redemption in its open
declaration, and full perfection, draweth nigh."
All the redeemed who are now scattered and dis-
persed over the face of the whole earth, will then be
gathered together into one body ; and a great and glo-
rious body it will be ; to be presented to the Father
without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; and to
grace their Redeemer's triumphs, as the trophies of
his victory over the powers of darkness, that had
held them captive, that he may be glorified in his
saints, and admired in all them that believe.'' A gene-
ral rendezvous it will be of all that ever approved
themselves good soldiers of Jesus Christ, when the
Captain of our salvation p shall produce all who were
given him ; they shall every one answer to their
names, and not one be missing.
All the enemies of the redeemed will then be con-
quered and brought down, and death itself, that
last enemy, shall be destroyed, and swallowed up
in victory. The devil, with all those whom he has
decoyed into his interest, will then, by the almighty
power of that God, whose the deceived and the de^
ceiver are,^ be cast into the lake of fire^ and the re-
deemed will be set for ever out of the reach of all
their enemies. Then shall the redemption of the
soul be perfected, in the redemption of the body
from the power of the grave, and that captivity led
captive.*
But that which, above all, will denominate it the
year of the redeemed, is, that then the ransomed of
Dan. xii. 8. n Luke xxi. 28. o 2 Thcas. 1. 10. p Heb. il. lo.
q Job xii. le. r Rev. xx. 10. « Rom. viii. 33.
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
749
the Lard shall return^ and eame to Stan with iongt of
praise; everlasting joy shall fill their hearts, and
crovn their heads ; and sorrow and sighing, those
cloads which in this world are still returning after
the rain, shall be finally dismissed, and flee away
for ever.* The redeemed of the Lord, by virtue of
their union with the Redeemer, will then sit down
TJth him upon his throne, as he overcame, and is
set down with his Father upon his throne, and reign
with him for ever.
This is the year of the redeemed ; for it is the year
which their hearts are upon, which, according to the
promise, they look for, and have an eye to, in all
their present services, sufferings, and struggles. It
will be the crown and satisfaction of their faith and
hope, and the perpetual perfection of all their joys
and honours.
Think, my brethren, think seriously, what that
year of the redeemed will be to you. How will the
archangeFs trumpet sound in your ears ? will it be a
joyful or a dreadful sound ? To them that obey the
gospel, and live up to it, it will proclaim liberty and
bonoar ; but against them who are unbelieving and
disobedient, it will denounce war and ruin. That
great day will be coronation day to the former, but
execution day to the latter. We none of us know
hot this year of which we now see the beginning may
be the year of our death ; if it should be so, will it
be the year of our redemption ? And can we, as such,
bid it welcome, and heartily say farewell to this
worid? Workout your salvation with fear and trem^
hUng^ and then you may look for death and judg-
ment with joy and rejoicing. Spend your time
well, and then no doubt but you shall spend your
eternity well ; and the year of the redeemed will
be the year of your eternal redemption.
(2.) Let me more largely apply it to the militant
cborch ; and the particular parts and branches of
Christ's kingdom in the world, and their states and
bterests, those especially with which we are best
acquainted, and in which we are most nearly con-
cerned.
1 was yesterday endeavouring, as well as I could,
to excite your holy joys and thankful praises for the
great things God has of late done for us, and our
allies, whom he crowned, the last year, with his
goodness : I would to-day say something for the en-
couragement of your faith and hope in God, con-
cerning the events of the year ensuing, and of your
earnest prayers to God that it may prove one of the
years of the redeemed.
It is no new thing for the church of Christ upon
earth to be in distress and bondage, and to stand in
need of redemption, notwithstanding the great re-
demption from sin and hell, which the Lord Jesus
has wrought out It is always militant, it is often
t Isa. XMXT. 10.
afflicted, tossed with tempests, and not comforted ;
and Sion constrained to dwell with the daughters of
Babylon." Israel had many enemies, was often in
the hands, often under the feet, of their enemies ; and
the redemption of Israel was often prayed for, and
often promised ; much more reason has the gospel
church (that never had so many promises made to
it, relating to the life that now is, as the Old-Testa-
ment church had) to expect trouble in this world ;
to be fought against, and to suffer persecution ; in
conformity to the example of its head.
The book of the Revelations gives us intimation
enough of troublesome times that were to pass over
the Church ; and though it should be allowed doubt-
ful who the enemy is that is there described, yet it
is past dispute, that there should arise an enemy, a
powerful and dangerous one, who should make war
with those that keep the commandments of God, and
the testimony of Jesus Christ i^ so that we are not
to think it strange, no, not concerning the fiery trial,
if the best of God's saints and servants be called out
to it, as though some strange thing happened. Be-
hold, Christ has told us before, that when it comes
it may be no surprise or offence to us.
But there will come a year of redemption for those
who suffer in the cause of Christ; God willnoU and
men shall not, contend for ever ; nor shall the rod of
the wicked rest always upon the lot of the righteous,
though it may rest long there. It is the state of some
of the reformed churches abroad, especially those
of France, that I have upon my heart, and had in
my eye in the choice of this text. The year of their
deliverance, whenever it comes, I must call the year
of the redeemed.
The excellent Archbishop Tillotson, in a sermon,
on Rev. xiv. 13. plainly intimates his suspicion^
that the French king is that second beast described
(Rev. xiii. 11.) with two horns, France and Navarre^
speaking like a dragon, which (says he) may point
at a particular sort of armed soldiers called dragons,
or dragoons : and the number six hundred sixty-six
in the name LUDoVICUs : and that the persecu-
tion of the French protestants, in that last and great
persecution, is there foretold. And in another ser-
mon before King William and Queen Mary in the
year 1692, makes him the present great supporter of
the mystical Babylon. And if so, a deliverance from
under his tyranny may well be prayed and hoped
for, in the year of the redeemed.
[Since the preaching of this, I have with much
pleasure received encouragement to my hopes, and
been confirmed in my choice of this subject, for an
appendix to the thanksgiving, by that excellent
discourse of the worthy Bishop of Sarum, before
the Queen and both Houses of parliament, on the
Thanksgiving- day, in which he lays so much stress
n Zecb. ii. 7.
' Rev x\i. 17.
760
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
upon the French king^s barbarous usage of bis pro-
testant subjects, in his description of him as an
oppressor, whom it wili be the glory of a good prince
to help to break in pieces : and he tells that august
assembly, '' That till the exiles are recalled, till the
prisoners are set at liberty, till the edicts that were
their inheritance are revived, and compensation is
made for the precious blood that has been shed
among them ; till the oppressor is so bounded, that
his own people are secured from oppression, and
his neighbours from invasion ; till this is done, it
is reasonable to hope, that man will say as God has
said. There it no peace to the wicked." God keep
that word always in the imagination of the thoughts
of their hearts, to whom it was spoken, and establish
their way before him.]
Four tilings it will be proper for us to inquire into,
concerning the year of the redeemed which we are
hoping, and praying, and waiting for. I. What the
year of the redeemed will be, and what we expect
to be included in it. II. What ground we have to
believe that it will come, some time. III. What
encouragement we have to hope that it will come
quickly. IV . What is our duty in reference hereto.
I. What we may expect the year of the redeemed
will be, which according to his promise we may
look for. You shalt see it in three things:
1. The year of recompence for the controversy of
Sion, will be the year of the redeemed. Such a year
we read of, (Isa. xxxiv. 8.) and it is parallel to this
here, for it explains the day of vengeance, which is
here said to be in the heart of the victorious Re-
deemer. Therefore the sword that is bathed in Aenven,
shall come down upon Idumea, the people of God's
eursCf because it is the year of recompence for the
controversy of Sion.
God espouses Sion's cause, does and will plead
it with jealousy :^ his church is dear to him as the
apple of his eye,' and, therefore, he has a contro-
versy with those who are injurious to his people ;
and sooner or later he will reckon with them, and
vidll avenge his own elect, who cry day and night to
him, though he bear long.^^ He has a righteous
quarrel with them, and he will avenge that quarrel.
Barbarous and unrighteous wars fill the measure of
a nation's sins ; and are that fourth transgression^
for which, when it is added to other three, God will
not turn away the punishmefit of a people, as is inti-
mated, (Amos i. 6, 9, 11, 13.) where for three trans-
gressions, and then this as the fourth, God will
reckon with Gaaea, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab,
because they had delivered up the whole captivity,
had pursued with the sword, and cast off all pity,
particularly had ript up the women with child: would
not God visit for these things, should not his soul be
avenged on such a nation as this ? But barbarous
Zecb. i. 14.
7 Luke xvili. 7.
sZech. ii.8.
• Joel iii. U.
persecutions for righteousness' sake, are yet mor«
provoking : all innocent blood is precious to God«
and inquisition will be made for it ; but the blood
of the saints, and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus,
is in a special manner precious to him, and not a
drop of it shall be shed but it shall be reckoned for.
The great day of recompence for Sion's contro-
versy will be at the end of time, in the valley of
decision* when the long depending controversy, after
many struggles, will at length be determined ; when
everlasting tribulation shall be recompensed by the
Lord Jesus, to them that troubled his church, and
to them who were troubled, everlasting rest.^ The
Lord hasten that glorious day, and make as ready
for it !
But we may expect that it will be done, in part,
in this world. When God shall have performed his
whole work upon mount Sion, and upon Jerusalem,
his humbling, reforming work upon them, he will
then perform his saving work for them, and will
punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of
Assyria, and the glory of his high looks :** the zeal
of the Lord of hosts shall do this. All the wTongs
done to Sion will be returned to those who did them,
and the cup of trembling will be taken out of the
hand of the oppressed, and put into the hand of the
oppressor.^ The arm of the Lord will awake as in
the days of old, and will put on strength ; that
mighty arm that humbled Pharaoh, Sennacherib,
Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, Julian, and other the
proud enemies of his church, will be made bare, in
our day, against the successors of these sons of
pride and violence. The papal kingdom in general,
that has for many ages been so barbarously oppress-
ive to the faithful worshippers of God, and the
French tyranny in particular, that has been remark-
ably so in our days, are the enemies, with whom, I
think, God has a controversy on Sion's behalf, and
the day will come that he will plead it
His controversy is,
(1.) For the sons of Sion, whom they [the perse-
cutors] have abused; the precious sons of Sion,
comparable to fine gold ; who have not only been
despised and thrown by as vessels in which tiiere is
no pleasure, but trodden down and broken to pieces
as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the
potter.<* How many excellent ministers and Chris-
tians have been sacrificed to the pride and malice
of the church of Rome, and with a rage reaching up
to heaven, numbered to the sword as sheep for the
slaughter! and the survivors either miserably en-
slaved in the galleys, and there dying daily, or buried
alive in dungeons, or forced to beg their bread in
strange countries: and shall not this be recom-
pensed ?
(2.) For the songs of Sion, which they have pro>
» 2 Thess. i. 6, 7.
elsa. H.12, sa
b Isa. X. IS.
<i Lam. iv. 2.
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
761
faned. This head is suggested by that instance of
the Babylonians' insolence, and contempt of the
Jews and their religion, when they upbraided them
ID their captivity with the songs of Sion : and, for
this, it follows. Daughter of Babylon, thou art to be
destroyed,* The contempt cast upon the pure wor-
ship of God as heretical, and the jest made of sacred
thiogSfis what God will reckon for.
(3.) For the powers of Sion's king, which they
have usurped. All the anointed offices of our Lord
Jesus aie boldly invaded by the papacy. His pro-
phetical office, by setting up an infallibility in pope
or councils; his kingly office, by setting up the
supremacy of the bishop of Rome over all churches,
and giving him the power of Christ's vicar, or his
rival rather, upon earth ; and his priestly office, by
making the mass a propitiatory sacrifice for sin, and
saints and angels mediators between God and man.
And shall not the crown of the exalted Redeemer
be supported against these usurpations ?
(4.) For the pleasant things of Sion's palaces
whif h they have laid waste. God will reckon for
the many churches they have demolished, the solemn
assemblies they have scattered, the administration of
ordinances they have restrained, and the fountains
of living water they have stopped up. God keeps
an account of all the mischief of this kind done at
anj time by the papal power and its adherents, and
will bring it all into the reckoning when the year of
rtoompences comes.
2. The year of release for God's captives, will be
the year of the redeemed ; and this is the year we are
wailing for. While we enjoy our liberties and op-
portanities, in peace and without check, we ought
to remember them who are in bonds, and to pray for
the turning again of their captivity ae the streams in
the south.
(1.) Oppressed consciences, we long to hear of
the release of. Of the many that through the force
of persecution have been brought to put forth their
hands unto iniquity, we hope there are some who
have not put forth their hearts to it ; but if the force
were taken off, would return to the true religion,
which they have in word renounced. The triumphs
of tyranny over those pretended converts cannot be
thought of by any good Christian, without the utmost
indignation ; for the worst of tyranny is theirs, who
take a pride in saying to men's souls, Bow down, that
ve may go aver ; ' insulting over conscience, and pre-
tending to command that : and though the utmost
point they can gain by all their violence, is that, as
it follows there, men lay their body as the ground, and
u the streets to them that go over, by external com-
pliances, while the soul remains unbended ; yet this
being a most grievous affliction, (as it is there spoken
of,) the freeing of the oppressed from this force will
t Pa. cxxxvH. 3. 8.
f Isa. 1i. S3.
be a most glorious deliverance. We long to hear of
the breaking off the yoke from off their necks, that
they may no longer be compelled to give that honour
to the creature that is the Creator's due, against
the conviction of their consciences; but may be
brought up out of that Egypt, to sacrifice unto the
Lord vrith freedom, though it were in a wilderness.
For, Is Israel a servant ? Is conscience a home-bom
slave, that it is thus spoiled,* thus imposed upon ?
No; it is God's Son, it is his first-born, and he
will maintain its privileges. Lord, bring their souls
out ofprisoti, that they tfusy praise thy name.^
(2.) Oppressed confessors, we also long to hear of
the release of. Humanity obliges us much, and
Christianity much more, to pity the distressed state
of those who are in bonds and banishment, in dun-
geons and in galleys, for the word of God, and for
the testimony of Jesus Christ. When will the time
come that the house of the prisoners shall be opened,
and every man's chains fall from his hands, that
a spirit of life from God shall enter into the dry
bones, that they may live ? The account we had some
years ago of the brave and daring struggles of the
Sevennois, was such a noise and a shaking, as we
thought portended the return of bone to his bone, and
a glorious resurrection of God's witnesses ; but that
affair, for aught we hear, is now asleep : God him-
self revive that work in the midst of the years, and
so hasten the year of the redeemed !
3. The year of the revival of primitive Christianity
in the power of it, will be the year of the redeemed.
This we wish, we hope, we long to see, both at home
and abroad ; not the establishment and advancement
of any party, but the extinguishing and swallowing
up of all parties in the prevalence of pure religion^
and undefiled, and the dominion of serious godliness
in the hearts and lives of all who are called by the
Christian name.
When the bounds of the church will be enlarged by
the conversion of Pagan and Mahometan nations to
the faith of Christ, and the spreading of the gospel
in foreign parts ; when the enlargement of trade and
commerce shall be made serviceable to the interests
of Christianity, as it is to our secular interests, and
the kingdoms of this world shall become the king-
doms of the Lord and of his Christ, and the Re-
deemer's throne shall be set up where Satan's seat is,
then will the year of the redeemed come.
When what is amiss in the churches of Christ
shall be amended, mistakes rectified, corruptions
purged out, and every plant that is not of our
heavenly Father's planting, shall be rooted up, and
the plants that are, shall be fruitful and flourishing ;
when the Lord of the temple shall sit as a refiner,
and shall purify the sons of Levi, and all the seed
of Israel, then shall the year of the redeemed come.*
% Jer. W. 14.
ii Ps. cxlii. 7.
i Mai. lii. 3.
762
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
When the word of the Lord shall have a free
coarse; when vice and profaneness shall be sup-
pressed, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth ;^
when virtue and piety shall be not only generally
praised, but g^enerally practised ; when in every
place the spiritual incense shall be offered, and a
pure offering with pure hands, and the principles
of our holy religion shall be copied out into men's
hearts and lives, then shall the year of the redeemed
come.
When the divisions of the church shall be healed,
and the unity of the Spirit kept entirely in the
bond of peace, so that Epbraim shall no longer envy
Judah, nor Judah vex Ephraim; when all shall
agree to love one another, though they cannot agree
in every thing to think with one another ; when the
Lord shall be one, and his name one, and all who
profess his name one in Christ, the great centre of
unity, then shall the year of the redeemed come.
In a word, when the Spirit shall be poured out
upon us from on high,> so that knowledge shall
triumph over ignorance, truth over error, devotion
over profaneness, virtue over all immoralities, justice
and truth over treachery and all unrighteousness,
and Christian love and charity over schism, bigotry,
and all uncharitableness ; then shall the year of the
redeemed come. But alas ! Who thall live when God
doeth thitf The Lord hasten it in its season.
II. What ground we have to believe that the year
of the redeemed, even the year of recompences for
the controversy of Sion, will come some time,
whether we live to see it or no.
That which I build upon is,
1. The justice and righteousness of that God who
governs the world, and whose kingdom ruleth over
all. If men are unrighteous, they shall find to their
cost that God is not. If men make nothing of their
word, God makes something of his ; and the un-
belief of men shall not make it void and of none
effect. Though clouds and darkness are round about
him,"" so that we know not the way that he takes,
verily he is a God who hideth himself; yet judg-
ment and justice are the habitation of his throne;
and so will it appear when the mystery of God shall
be finished, and the heavens shall declare his right-
eousness, and neither earth nor hell shall have any
thing to object against it Sooner or later the Lord
will be known by the judgment which he executes.
Look up, (my brethren,) look up with an eye of faith
to heaven above, and see the Lord God Omnipotent
upon a throne, high and lifted up ;® the throne of
glory, the throne of government, which he has pre-
pared in the heavens,? and established there, though
the heathen rage, and the floods lift up their waves :<i
and hence let us take encouragement to hope, that
in due time we shall see an effectual check given to
k Ps. cvi. 42.
a P». 1. 6.
I laa. zxxii. 15.
o Im. vi. I.
m Pi. xcvii. 2.
P Pi. ciil. 19.
the '* boundless ambition of France," as the procla-
mations often call it The universal Monarch will
not suffer himself to be rivalled and insulted bj a
bold pretender to an universal monarchy ; nor will
he, who alone is absolute, have the flowers of his
crown plucked by a pretender to absolute sove-
reignty. The humbling and abasing of such proud
men, treading them down, and hiding them in the
dust together, by which the great Jehovah proves
himself to be God ; and in which he glories, above
any thing, in his discourse with Job, out of the
whirlwind : Do thou do to (says he) and then will 1
alio confess unto thee,' And will he not do it io oar
day?
Look abroad, (my brethren,) look abroad with
pleasure upon this earth, and see it, as wild as it is,
and as bad as it is, under the government of a right-
eous God, whose eyes run to and fro through it, and
who does according to his will, not only in the armies
of heaven, who are not too high to be above his con-
trol ; but among the inhabitants of the earth, who
are not too mean to be below his cognizance. Thej
are mistaken who think God has forsaken the earth,*
and that he cannot judge through the dark cloud ; *
who say in their hearts, God hath forgotten, and, T^ou
wilt not require it. The day is coming when it shall
be so evident, that every man will own it : verily
there is a reward for the righteous ; verily there is a
God that judgeth in the earth,"*
Suppose we could not read the doom of the pa-
pacy, and the French tyranny, out of the depths of
the Apocalypse, we may read it out of the Proverbs
of Solomon, the plainest book in all the Bible ; for
there we are told, men's pride will bring them low ;
wealth gotten by vanity will he diminished ; he that
seeheth mischief it shall come upon him ; and whoso
doth violence to innocent blood, shall flee to the pit, and
no man shall stay him. And no word of God shall
fall to the ground.
The tender concern God has for his church and
people. His redeemed are very dear to him, and
he is jealous for them, as his portion, and peculiar
treasure ; he takes pleasure in their prosperity, and
in all their afilictions he is afflicted ; and he takes
what is done against them as done against himself:
and shall not he avenge his own elect, because they
are his own ? He who purchased the soul of his turtle
dove with the blood of his Son, will not deliver it
into the hand of the multitude of its adversaries J*
Especially, considering how much his own honour
is interested in the concerns of his church and peo-
ple. If they be abandoned and cast out of his care
what will the Egyptians say ; it will for ever dis-
grace the throne of his glory, and be the reproach of
his government ; so that how mean soever they are,
and unworthy he should do any thing for them ; yet,
q Ps. xcili. 2, a. r Job xl. 12-14. ■ Ezek. ix. 9.
t Job xxil. 13. u p& Iviii. II. ▼ Pa. Uxiv. 19.
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
753
DO doabty he will work for his own name, his own
great name, that that may not be polluted among
tbe heathen.
The many exceeding great and precious promises
which he has made in his word concerning his
cborcb, and on which he has caused us to hope : on
these our faith mast build, and we shall find them a
firm and never failing foundation. God has spoken
in his holiness,^ and we will rejoice in what he has
promised, it is all our own. He has promised, that
he Kill jud^e far kit people, and repent himself concern"
ing hit servants^ when he Meet that their strength is
gone.' That far the oppression of the poor, and the
sighing of the needy, he will arise and set them in safety,^
That the Redeemer shall come to Sion, and turn away
wigodliness from Jacob.* That there shall be no
more any priching brier or grieving thorn, nor any to
hurt or destroy in all the holy mountain.*
It was shown in vision to the prophet Daniel what
^reat havoc would be made, by persecuting powers
of the church in the latter times of it ; but at the
same time, the deliverance of the church and the
destruction of its enemies is foretold. Antiochus
shall be mighty, and shall wonderfully destroy the peo-
pUof the Holy One : and through his policy he shall
cauts craft to prosper in his hand, and he shaU magnify
himself in his heart ; and by peace (more than by war)
he shall destroy many, (who can avoid thinking of
the French king at the reading of this ?) but he shall
U broken without hand ;** or, as it is in a parallel
place, he shall eonu to his end, and none shall help
him,^ And of another great enemy, arising out of
the fourth kingdom, which seems to be the papacy,
it b said, that he shall wear out tfte saints of the Most
High, and think to change times and laws by an un-
limited power ; and they shall be given into his hand,
hj the divine permission, for wise and holy ends,
«a/i7 a time, times, and the dividing of time.^ But
what will come of him at last ? Shall he reign thus
for ever, because he clotheth himself with cedar ?*
No, the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away
his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
The God of troth has said it, and shall stand firm.
Be that leadeth into captivity, shall go into captivity ;
and he that hiUeth with the sword, shall he hilled by
the sword, when his day shall come to fall : and in the
mean time, here is the patience and the faith of the
saints/
2. The performance of these promises to the church
in all ages: God has often delivered, always de*
livered at last, and, therefore, we trust he does and
viil deliver. After Israel's long affliction in Egypt,
^at house of note bondage, at length God came
down to deliver them, and gave an emblem of their
condition in a bash that burned, and yet was not
consumed. In the times of the judges, first one
I Rom. si. 26.
« Deut. sxxii. 90, y pa. xii. &.
• Is:i x1 ft b Dan. viii. 94. S&.
3c
enemy, and then another, mightily oppressed them,
for so many years ; but in due time God raised them
up a deliverer, and sent from heaven to save them.
The captivity in Babylon came to an end at the set
time. The treading under foot of the sanctuary, by
Antiochus, was limited to a certain number of days,
and then the sanctuary was cleaned.* Thus the
Jewish nation, as long as it continued the church of
God, though often distressed, was still delivered, till
by rejecting Christ and his Gospel, they threw them-
selves out of the church ; and now they wait in vain
for redemption from their present dispersion, and
cannot expect it till they shall look unto him whom
they pierced.
The Christian church has been often afflicted from
its youth up, groaned long under tbe yoke of the
pagan powers ; but in Constantine's time the year
of the redeemed came, when the great red dragon
was cast out, and his angels who adored him were
cast out with htm ; when idolatry was abolished,
and persecution came to an end, and that voice was
heard in heaven. Now is come salvation, and strength,
the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ.^
— ^Many have been the troubles of the followers of
Christ ; but the Lord has delivered them out of them
all. Now, God is the same yesterday, to-day, and
for ever ; he is God, and changes not ; his arm is not
shortened, his ear is not heavy, his love is not spent,
nor are his counsels changed : and, therefore, we
are sure, the year of the redeemed will come in due
time, and though it tarry we will wait for it ; for the
vision is for an appointed time, and at the end it shall
speahf and shall not lie.
III. What encouragement we have to hope that
the year of the redeemed will come shortly ; that the
rescue of the oppressed and the ruin of the oppress-
or is not far off ; that the progress and advancement
of the protestant religion in Europe, with the reviving
and flourishing of serious piety in all the churches
of Christ, are blessings at the door.
As to this, let me premise, that we ought to be
very sober and modest in our conjectures concern-
ing the time of the accomplishment of Scripture pro<>
phecies. Buxtorf, I remember, somewhere quotes
a saying of the Jewish rabbins, Rumpatur spiritus
eorum qui supputant temporar^Calculating the times
breaks the spirit. They have so long and so often
looked for the coming of the Messiah, and been dis-
appointed, that they curse him who fixes the time of
his coming. We despair not of the things them-
selves that God has promised ; but we presume not
to limit tbe Holy One of Israel, or to set him his
time ; we wrong the promise by doing so, and are
tempted to think, when Providence breaks our mea-
sures, it is the breaking of God's word, — and nothing
tends more to the breaking of our spirits : whereas
e Dan. xi. 49.
f Rev. xili. 10.
d Dan. vli. 25. 16.
ff Dan. viii. 14.
e Jer. xzii. Mi
h Rev. xtl 9. 10.
764
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
he that helieveth doth not mahe haste. Many who
have been peremptory in foretelling the time when
the year of the redeemed would come, have had the
mortification of living to see themselves mistaken.
If we look into ourselves, we shall find a great
deal to discourage us, and make us fear that this
glorious year is yet a great way off; so conscious are
we to ourselves of a frame and disposition of soul
that renders us utterly unmeet to share in the joys
of such a day. Our faith is weak ; our spirits are
narrow ; our prayers are cold and customary ; our
conversation loose and careless; and the things
which remain among us are ready to die. Iniquity
abounds, and the love of many is waxen cold. Our
own private interests, it is to be feared, lie nearer
our hearts than the great and general interests of
the kingdom of God among men. Our divisions are
very threatening, especially the mismanagement of
them: these are ill omens, and occasion many a
melancholy thought to those who seek the good of
the gospel Jerusalem. We now think ourselves
within sight of Canaan: but how justly might God
for our unbelief and murmuring hurry us back into
the wilderness again, and swear in his wrath that
we should never enter into his rest ? We should have
the more reason to fear these fatal consequences of
our present distempers, but that it is intimated to us,
that the Son of man will come at a time when he
shall find little faith on the earth,* that the divine
fidelity be the more magnified.
But for all this, we are not altogether without
hope, that the year of the redeemed may come
shortly : who knows but that this year, which we are
now brought to the beginning of, may in some
instances go far toward it? Though if it should set
us back, and prove a year of disappointment, we
must own that God is righteous ; yet if it should set
us forward, and make large advances towards it, we
shall have this to add to the comfort of it, tliat it
will be the answer of our prayers, and the crown of
our hopes in God at the beginning of the year.
I dare not build much upon the opinion of Mr.
Joseph Mede, and other learned men, (though I have
a great value for their judgment,) who compute the
period of 12G0 days, that is, years, so often spoken
of in the Revelation, which should end in the resur-
rection of the witnesses, and the downfall of Baby-
lon, to fall not many years hence. However that be,
1. It is plain that the measure of the iniquity of
the church's enemies fills apace : the powers we ar6
contesting with, after all the mortifications they
have been under, as if they had bid defiance to
repentance, seem to g^w more and more false and
treacherous, cruel and barbarous ; which cannot but
ripen their vintage apace for the great wine-press of
the wrath of God.^ That which hastened the descent
i Luke Tcviii. 8. k Rev. xlv. 19. i Isa. xW. 17.
■u Dan. iv. V7. » tsa. xzxiii. I.
of the king of Babylon down to the sides of the
pit, was, not only that he had made the earth to
tremble, and shaken kingdoms ; that he had made
the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities
thereof; but, which was worst of all, he opened not
the house of his prisoners,* that is, God's Israel,
whom he detained in captivity, those poor to whom
Daniel counselled him to show mercy, that it might
have been a lengthening of his tranquillity."
Well, when he who spoileth though he was noi
spoiled, and dealt treacherously with those who d^alt
fairly with him, shall cease to spoil, and shall fnake
an end to deal treacherously ;* not in a way of re-
formation, that we have more reason to pray for
than hope for, but so as that his measure shall he
full ; then expect that he shall be spoiled, and men
shall deal treacherously vrith him, that is, shall show
him that he has wretchedly deceived himself. Bahy-
lon's doom is, Reward her as she rewarded you.*
2. The present posture of affairs gives us a very
hopeful prospect The pride of the French king
has been much humbled of late, and his power
broken ; and (which is very encouraging) the great
things done against him, have been done chiefly by
protestant armies, which, we hope, will animate
protestant princes and states to unite for the support
of the reformation, that it may recover the ground
which in many places it has lost, and may (^in
more ; for many, we hope, will join themselves to
us, when they see that God favours our righteous
cause, and that he is with us of a truth.
For our future safety, Manoah's wife shall be my
prophetess : If the Lord had been pleased f kill us,
he would not thus have accepted and answered our
prayers, nor would he, as at this time, ha»e showed ns
such things as these.^
And for our further success and victory, even
Haman's wife shall be my prophetess : If Mordecai
he of the seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast
begun to fall, there is no remedy ; the seed of the
Jews will without fail be victorious, whenever the
scale turns in their favour; thou shalt noi prevail
against him, but shalt surely fall before Aim.^ As for
God, his work is perfect ; when he begins he will
make an end. What we have received from God
imboldens us to expect more ; when God brake the
heads of Leviathan' in pieces, he gave him to he tneat
to the faith and hope of his people inhabiting ike
wilderness, and so encouraged them to expect, that
they should inhabit Canaan shortly. God is plainly
selling Sisera into the hand of a woman.
IV. Nothing remains now, but to tell you in a
word or two, what is our duty in reference here-
unto. Have we all this reason to think that the
year of the redeemed will come, that surely it will
come quickly ?
e Rev. xTiii. 6.
1 Esth. v1. 13.
P Judg. xlli. S3.
r Ps. Ixxiv. 14.
ENGLAND'S HOPES.
756
I. Then let os be very earnest with God in prayer,
to hasten this glorious year. When Daniel under-
stood by books that the seventy years of Jenisalem's
desolations were just expirinj^, then he set his face
vilh more than ordinary ferroar and fixedness to
seek the Lord God by prayer and supplication, with
fasting.* When we see mercies coming toward as,
let as go forth to meet them, with so much the more
cheerfolness, by oar prayers. Men ought always to
^ay, and not to faint ;^ but, especially, at such a
time, that when God's beloved is delivered^ and- he
saves witk his right hand, we each of us may have the
pleasure of saying, with the Psalmist, God has there-
in answered me,^
Let our closets and families witness for us, that
we pray, that we pray daily, that we pray earnestly,
for the peace of Jerusalem, as those who prefer it
before our chief joy. Pray for the uniting of pro-
testants at home, and for protestant princes and
states abroad ; pray for the prosperity of our armies
and navies, and those of our allies ; pray for the
pouring out of the Spirit upon us from on high, and
then the year of the redeemed would soon come.
2. Let us prepare ourselves for the comfort of
those great things, which we hope God will do for
his church in our days, by bringing every thought
within us into obedience to those two royal laws of
holiness and lore. When we expect God to do
wonders amonf^ us, it concerns us to sanctify our-
selves.* I«et las carry on the holy war in our own
bosoms against sin and Satan, the world and the
flesh, with vigour, and pursuant to our baptismal
TOW, fight mamfaily under the banner of the Lord
Jesas ; then naay we hope that our prayers for the
prosperity of the war our nation is engaged in, will
be acceptable, and prevalent in heaven. But what
joy can we hawe of our triumphs over the French, if
we suffer our own lusts to triumph over us ? If in-
deed we desire the progress of the reformation in
the churches of Christ, let us show it by carrying on
• DaiLULS.
t LukexviU. l.
• Ps. eviii. 6.
the reformation of our own hearts and lives and
families. Remember that law of Moses, When the host
goeth forth against the enemy, then heep thyself from
every wiched thing, lest you undo by your sins what
they do by their swords.
3. Let us with patience wait for the year of the re*
deemed. If the days of our brethren's affliction
should yet be prolonged, and their deliverance be
deferred, yet let us not be weary, nor faint in our
minds. Though the year of the redeemed come not
in our time, the time we looked for it, yet believe, it
will come in the best time, the time that infinite wis-
dom has appointed ; and when it does come, it will
abundantly reoompense us for all our waiting. The
longest voyages make the richest returns ; and the
church's triumphs are the most welcome, when they
are the crown of great and long expectations : So,
this is our God, we have waited for himJ* Let us not
upon every disappointment, arraign either the provi-
dence of God, or the conduct of those in public trusts.
Leave it to God to govern the world, and to the queen
and her councils under him, to govern the realm ;
and let us in our obscurity be easy and satisfied, and
believe that all will end well at last
But if the year of the redeemed should not come
in our days ; if the carcasses of this generation should
fall in this wilderness, as justly they may for our
unbelief and murmuring, and we should not go over
Jordan to see that goodly mountain, and Lebanon :
yet let it suffice us, that those who shall come after
us shall enter into that rest. Joseph dies in Egypt,
but lays his bones in confidence that God will surel}'
visit Israel. Let us give all diligence to make sure
our eternal redemption, and then we shall be happy,
though we live not to see the glories of the year of the
redeemed on earth; and may depart in the pro*
phet Daniel's dismission. Go thou thy way till the
end be, for tliou shalt rest ; and, whatever thy lot be
on earth, thou shalt stand in thy lot, (and it shall
be a blessed lot,) in the end of the days."
V Josh. iii. 4.
w lia. zxT. 9.
s Dan. xii. IQi
Zc2
A SERMON
CONCERNING THK
WORK AND SUCCESS OF THE MINISTRY ;
Preached at the Tuealay Lecture, at Salters* Hall, June 25, 1710.
Lure x. 6, 6.
And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be
to this house. And if the Son of peace be there, your
peace shall rest upon it ; if not, it shall return to you
again.
Prospect of success, as it is the spring of action,
so it is the spur to industry and resolution. Issa-
char, that tribe of husbandmen, would never bow
his shoulder to bear, and couch, as he does, between
two burthens, much less could he rejoice in his
tents of labour, but that he sees the land is pleasant,^
and from it he hopes to reap the precious fruits of
the earth : nor would Zebulun, that tribe of mer-
chants,be a haven of ships, and rejoice in his hazard-
ous going out, but that he expects to suck of the
abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the
sand.^ Whatever business a man has, he cannot
long oblige himself to abide by it, unless he can
promise himself to get by it.
N.ow it is worth while to inquire, what is the gain,
and what the success, which we, who are ministers,
have in prospect, and which we bear up ourselves in
our work with the prospect of. What is it which we
may feed ourselves with the hopes of?
1. Worldly advantages we must not promise to
ourselves, in common with the children of this
world : for the soldiers of Jesus Christ, though they
walk in the flesh, do not war after the flesh ;^ they
negociate the affairs of a kingdom that is not of this
world.
They who deal in secular business, think they
succeed well and gain their point, if they raise an
estate, and advance their families, and make to
themselves a name among the great ones of the earth ;
they rejoice because their wealth is great, and their
• Gen. xlix. H, 15.
« 2 Cor. X. 3.
b Deat. xxxiii. 19.
d 1 Cor. ix. H.
hand has gotten much, and say, Soul, take thine ease.
But the ministry, though it is the best calling, is the
worst trade, in the world ; that is, it will prove so to
those who make a mere trade of it, looking no
further than to get money by it, and to enrich
themselves.
We cannot propose to ourselves advantages of this
kind, for the same Lord who ordained, that they tcho
preach the gospel should live of the gospel^^ and live
comfortably, has also told them. In the world ye
must have tribulation.^ Nay, we may not make
these things our end in undertaking or prosecuting
this work : we debase our calling and contradict
our profession if we do. Shall we, who preach the
great things of another world to others, so far forget
ourselves as to seek great things to ourselves in this
world, when God in saying to Baruch has said to
all his servants the prophets. Seek them not ?^
2. Spiritual and eternal advantages in the other
world, if we be faithful, we may hope for, and en-
courage ourselves with the prospect of, in common
with all good Christians. If we be sincere, and dili-
gent in our work, and our hearts upright with God,
we shall have the favour of God, and the testimony
of our consciences for us, and eternal life in its
earnests and first-fruits abiding in us ; and it is
much our own fault, if we excel not in graces and
comforts, by our constant converse with divine
things. And if through grace we endure to the end
good and faithful servants, our Master's ** Well
done," the joy of our Lord into which we shall enter,
and the crown of life ^ which we shall receive when
the chief Shepherd shall appear,** will be an abun-
dant recompence for all our services and sufferings :
and we shall then say, we have had good success in
our work.
Let us therefore fear, lest such a rest, such a glory.
e John xvi. 33.
cr Matt. xxy. 21.
f Jcr. xlv. 5.
I Pet. V. 4.
A SERMON, &c.
767
being set before as, any of us should seem to come
short of it,* and lest while we preach to others, and
show them the way to heaven, we ourselves should
be shut outf and become cast away at last ;^ and,
being moved with this fear, let us walk very circum-
spectly, and take heed to ourselves, that we may not
ODly save those who hear us, but ourselves in the
first place. Bat,
3. There is a particular good success besides this,
which faithful ministers have in prospect, which they
aim at, and animate themselves with, in their work,
and that is, doing good to the souls of men ; and, as
instruments in the hand of God, serving the interests
of Christ's kingdom in the world. We are shep-
herds, we are vine-dressers, and we reckon we have
l^ood success, if the flock increase, and the vineyard
flourish, and be fruitful, to the honour of him who is
the great Owner of both. We are Christ's soldiers,
and if we be instrumental to curb and restrain the
enemies of his kingdom, and to reduce and protect
the subjects of it ; if by the blessing of God on our
ministry the ignorant be instructed, the simple made
wise for their souls and eternity, and the wise made
to increase in learning ; if the bad be made good,
and the good made better ; then do we prosper, and
then have we good success. This is that we should
faaTc in our eye, and which we should lay near our
hearts, with seriousness and concern to the last de-
l^ree. That is that, for the compassing of which we
should study and use the most apt and proper means,
and should willingly spend and be spent ; it is that
fmit of the travail of our soul, which, if we see it,
will be abundantly to our satisfaction,* and the pain
will be forgotten for joy of it ; but if we see it not,
the case is more sad than that of a miscarrying womb
and dry breasts," and because of it we go on in hea-
viness, nay, in bitterness of spirit."
But though so much of ^our comfort is bound up
in the success of our labour, yet we lie under this
disadvantage, above those of other professions, that
we are at g^eat ancertainty concerning it, and for
the most part very much in the dark. The physician
knows whether he cures his patietat or no, and the
lawyer whether be carries his client's cause or no :
but we preach, from day to day, to work upon the
hearts of men ; and though sometimes the eflect is
visible either one way or the other, some men's sins
<re open beforehaud^ and the good works of some are
likewise manifest be/orehand,^ some are much our
joy and crown, others much our grief and shame ; —
yet more often it is not so ; we cannot tell who are
savingly wrought upon, and who are not: but this
makes the foundation of God to stand sure. The Lord
hmps tkem that are hisj^ whether we do or no. And
in this matter, which cannot but be very much upon
our hearts, this text will give us both direction and
H«t». \y. 1.
■ Hos. ix. 14.
k 1 Cor. ix. 37. I Isa. lili. II.
n Ezck. lit. 14.
satisfaction : for it shows us how we must do our
duty, and then leave the success with the grace of
God, — as in the affairs of this life, we are to leave
it with the providence of God.
The text is part of the instructions which our Lord
Jesus g^ve to the seventy disciples, when he gave
them their commission ; for those two will go toge-
ther : Christ sends none on his errand, whom he does
not give in some measure to understand their mes-
sage. These instructions here are much the same
with those he gave to the twelve apostles ; and what
he said to them both in exhortation and encourage-
ment, he says in effect to all his ministers, excepting
some few things that were peculiar to the state and
work of those first preachers of the gospel.
My text will give us not only a fair occasion, but
good help too, to consider two things :
I. The work and office of ministers ; wherever
they come, they are to say. Peace he here,
II. Their success in the discharge of this office ;
which is according as they da or do not meet with
the sons of peace. And the opening of these two
things, I trust, by the blessing of God, may be of
some use both to ministers and people.
I. We may observe here, what the charge and
work of gospel ministers is, and what they are war-
ranted and instructed to do ; they are appointed by
the Prince of peace to be the messengers of peace,
and wherever they come, they are to say. Peace he
here. If a minister be asked, as Samuel was, Comes t
thou peaceahly, he may answer in the name of him
who sent him. Yes, peaceahly i^ and such their tem-
per and behaviour ought to be, as to be able to an-
swer so for themselves. They are heralds indeed
to proclaim war against sin ; but to the children of
men they are sent as ambassadors preaching peace
by Jesus Christ ;' who himself first came (as one
pleased he had such an errand to perform) and
preached peace to them that were afar off, and to
them that were nigh ;* and has appointed his minis*
ters as residents to negociate this great affair, while
time lasts, for so long the treaty will continue.
1. The ministers whom Christ here sends forth are
supposed to enter into private houses ; and that un-
der the character of Christ's ambassadors, and in
the execution of their office, — ^the business of which
they must be carrying on, not tfniy inte whatsoever
synagogue, but into whatsoever house, thc]^ enter.
We shall find them \n private houses, either because
thither their public preaching will be driven, or be-
cause thither they themselves will carry it.
(1.) Sometimes they were forced into such comers^
Though the message they brought had every thing
in it to recommend them to an universal accept-
ance, yet it is probable, in many places they were
not permitted to preach in the synagogues ; the rulers
o 1 IMm. V. 24, S5. p 9 Tim. 11. 19. 4 I Sam. xvi. a.
r Acts X. 38. ■ Eph. ii. 17.
r68
A SGRMON CONCERNING THfi
there who had a Jealous eye upon them would take
care to keep them thence ; and they then retired
Into private bouses, and preached to as many as
would come to hear them there. Those who cannot
do what they would for Ood and the souls of men,
must do what they can, and God will accept of
them.
The g^ospel of Christ is never the less honourable
in itself, nor should be ever the less acceptable to us,
for any disadvantageous circumstances of this kind,
which the preaching of it may be at any time re-
duced to. It is not the place but the heart that
God looks at.' It was in the house of Cornelius
that the Holy Ghost first descended, in the dew of
Peter's preaching upon the Gentiles. The master
of the feast sent his servants into the highways and
the hedges, to invite guests to the wedding supper.
And those who, in such a cloudy and dark day,
open their doors to God's ministers and people, out
of a sincere love to Christ and his gospel, whatever
inconvenience they may sustain, shall be no losers by
it in the end ; sure a church of Christ brought into
a house (and we often in the New Testament meet
with a " church in the house *') cannot but bring as
valuable a blessing along with it, though perhaps
not so sensible a one, as the ark of God brought into
the house of Obed-edom." Simon Peter was soon
repaid with a great draught of fishes, for lending
Christ his boat to preach a sermon out of,* and
(which was a better reward) was made a fisher of
men.
We have reason to be thankful to God that we
arc not reduced to Such straits as our suffering
brethren in France are at this day reduced to ; but
it is our wisdom to prepare for changes, and to re-
solve, that whithersoever the ark removes, we will
remove and go after it.*
(2.) They always embraced such opportunities of
spreading the gospel, and doing good to the souls
of men, as visiting people at their houses gate them.
Our Lord Jesus preached wherever he visited. Mary
heard his word, and Martha should have heard it,
in their own house.^ St. Paul, at £phesus, taught
not only publicly in the synagogue, and the school
of Tyrannus, but from house to bouse ;7 and the
apostles, at Jenisaletn, not only in the temple, but
ffi every house continued to teach and preach Jesus
Christ*
Private and personal application Would make our
public work the more successful; and some, per-
haps, will ^ve a more earnest heed to that which is
spoken to them, by themselves, about their souls and
their salvation, than to that which they only hear
in common with others. Peter must not only cast a
net, but sometimes cast a hook, into the sea, with
'^hich the fish may be caught that had escaped the
« AcUi. 24. u 3 Sam. vi. 12. ▼ Luke v. 3, 4. w Jnsh iii. 3.
A Luke X. 39. 7 Acts XX. ». * Acts v> 42/
net" And if the words of the wise be as iiiit7#, this
will help to fasten them, as naiU in a sure placed
Hereby we may come to know what people have to
say against being religious, and what their excuses
are with which they support themselves in a sinful
way ; and by giving suitable answers to both, may
help them over the particular difliculty that lies id
their way.
Thus, we may express more condescension and
compassion (two excellent principles in a minister)
than We can in our public administrationfl. Thus,
we may give more particular reproofs and admo-
nitions, counsels and comforts, suited to the case of
each person and family ; may, with that which is
indeed the tongue of the learned, speak a word in
season f and may learn the better how to direct the
arrow in public, that it may not alwilys come from a
bow druum at a venture.
But if the priesfs lips should keep knowledge^ and
have it ready to impart upon all occasions, the
people should seek the law at his mouth,^ and desire
instruction. Ministers would gladly give you the
best advice they can about your spiritual concerns,
if you would atk it, or give tkem an oppartunitg Jtfr
it ; and, when they come to your houses, or you are
in company with them, would ask, (as of old they
used to do of the prophet,) Wkat hatk the Lord an-
iwered thee? and, What hdth the Lord spoken?*
Watchman, what of the night ? They who would have
the benefit of an oracle must consult it.
2. They are instructed to say. Peace he to this
house; that is, to the inhabitants of it ; to all uniler
this roof; to the master of the family, for be he ever
so great he needs this blessing ; and to all the mem-*
hers of the family, for be they ever so mean they are
not excluded from this blessing. In Christ Jesus
there is neither bond nor free. Ig^atius's bishop
was to take cognisance even of the servants of the
families that belonged to his charge*
Peace be to you, was a common form of salutation
among the Jews ; but no doubt it is here intended
for more than a compliment, or a piece of civility
and good manners: it does indeed well become
Christ's ministers to be very respectful and obliging
to all. The just and undissembled expressions of
honour and tenderness to those with whom they con-*
verse, will not only be an ornament to their profes-
sion, but may help to gain them an interest in the
affections of people, improvable to the best purposes ;
as on the contrary, their ministry may be prejudiced
more than they are aware of, by a rude and morose
behaviour. But these words here< are to be used by
them in the same sense, and with the same solem-
nity that Christ used them to his disciples, after his
resurrection, when he stood in the midst, and said
unto them, once and again, Peace be unto gou ;' by
• Matt. xvii. 27. bEccl.xii.il. o Isa. 1. 4.
d Mftl. ii. 7. 4 Jer. zxiii. 37« r Johft %%, l»/3l.
WORK AND SUCCESS OF THE MINISTRY
759
which he lodged this peace with Diem, as a sacred
deposit, to be commonicated by them, as his agents,
to the cbarch : Peace be to you, and, in you, to all
belieren. Reoeiye the olive-branch of peace, and
carry it with yon to all nations ; receive from him
vho has authority to g:ive it, and who can conunand
peace to be the fruit of the lips, the fruit of your
lips.' They were to go into all the world, with these
words in their mouths. Peace he unto you. They
were for peace ; but when they spake, the world was
forward — with them, with Christ himself.
Nov the gospel they preach was an everlasting
gospel,' and Jesus Christ is, in it, the same to-^y
that he was yettertUy ; ^ and, therefore, what ikey
were to say, in the same name, we are to say, we do
say : Peace he unte you, I say, (the unworthiest of
all who are employed on this great errand,) Peace
he to tkii congregation ; Peace to everyone who hears
me this day. For my brethren and companions* eake^ I
viU now say, Peaea be unto you.^ That is,
(1.) We are to preach peace to all ; to publish
and proclaim the gospel of peace ; to notify to the
children of men the covenant of peace ; to invite
them to come and take the benefit of it, and for
their greater satisfaction to administer the seals of
it When the first-begotten was brought into the
world, the angels of heaven, in token of their com-
manion with the church militant, sang. Glory to
God in the highest , on earth peace ;"* and when he was
brought into Jerusalem, the disciples on earth, in
token of their communion with the church trium-
phant, sang. Peace in heaven, and glory in the high-
fil,'— 40 that both ^the upper and lower world
share in, and give thanks for, this peace. The mi-
nisten of the gospel bring good tidings, for they
publish peace.* Wo are warranted to make a gene-
ral offer of peace to all, upon easy and reasonable
terms: Peace, that is,
[1.] Reconciliation, — and no war. The case is
plain that sin has been the parent of disagreement
between God and man. As soon as ever man had
eaten the forbidden fruit, his God, who made him,
became his enemy and fought against him ;p in token
of which, a cherubim was set, with a flaming sword
that turned every way, threatening death, while he
l^ept the way of the tree of life.^ The quarrel is
hereditary; we are by nature children of wrath, be-
caase children of disobedience ; the broken law lays
OS under the curse, and sets the terrors of God in
array against as. And if God proceed in his con-
troTersy with as, it will certainly terminate in our
endless ruin ; for who knows the power of his anger ?
Bat is the breach wide as the sea, that it cannot
be healed? Is the case desperate? Blessed be
Cod, it is not ; the gospel we preach shows us that
f la. ItU. 19. h Pt. cxx. 7. 1 Rev. xlv. 6. k Heb. xtlL 8.
I Ps cxxil. ft Gal. ri. 16. m Luke ii. 14.
> Lake six. 3p. o isa. UL 7. p Ua. ]xiU. 10.
God'.s thoughts toward us are thoughts of peace ;''
that Christ undertakes to be our peace ; * and thus
the counsels of peace were between tJiem both.*^ It
discovers to us how satisfaction was made for the
violation of the first covenant, and a foundation laid
for a treaty of peace ; how the enmity was slain by
the cross of Christ, and a happy expedient found to
bring God and man together again in a new cove-
nant. Behold, we bring you glad tidings of great joy,
the best news that ever came from heaven to earth,
that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself^ There is not only a cessation of arms, and
a truce for a time, but methods proposed for a lasting,
an everlasting, accommodation; Infinite Wisdom
having found a ransom.
Now when we say. Peace be unto you, we thereby
proclaim to the rebellious children. That whoever
will may come and take the benefit of this act of in-
demnity; conditions of peace are offered them, which
they cannot with any colour of reason except against ;
God is willing to be reconciled to yon upon gospel
terms ; and, therefore, we as ambassadors for Christ
beseech you in his stead to be reconciled to him.^
You deceive yourselves into your own ruin, if you
say you shall have peace though you go on still in
your sins ;* but we court you to your own happiness,
when we tell you you shall have peace, if you re-
turn, and repent, and yield yourselves to the Lord.
The great God, by his prophet, has as.snred us, thnt
he is not implacable, for fury is not in him ; * (right-
eous he is, but not furious ;) yet witlial that he is
irresistible, and we are unable to stand before him,
for who would set the briars and thom» against him in
battle f which will be so far from giving check to a
consuming fire, that they will bring fuel to it ; be
will yo through them, yea, he will bum them together.
What must a man do then who sees himself ready to
be swallowed up by the divine wrath? The God of
heaven tells him what he must do : Let him take hold
on my strength^ (take hold by a lively faith on Christ
crucified, who is the power of God, and his arm re-
vealed,) that he mahe peace with me ; let him submit,
and return to his allegiance, accommodate himself
to his God, and to his duty, and he shall mahe
peace with me ; he shall have the comfort of it, and
all shall be well.
[2.] Riches, — and no want. It is not only the ex-
tinction of an unhappy controversy, but the settling
of a happy correspondence ; Peace be to you, is as
much as All good be to you. When the Psalmist
prayed for peace within Zion*s walls, he explained
himself in the next words, prosperity be within thy
palaces ;' and meant no less, when, for his brethren
and companions' sake, he said. Peace be within thee.
So when we say. Peace be to this assembly, we make
q Gen. iii. 34. r Jer. xxix. 11. « Eph. ii. 14. t Zech. vi. 13.
u s Cor. V. 10. V 2 Cor. v. 30. w Deut xxix. 10.
x IflL xxvii. 4» & y P>. czxii. 7, %
760
A siRMON CONCERNING THE
you in God's name a fair offer of life and all happiness ;
of all that which is agreeable to the nature of your
souls, as you are rational and immortal creatures, —
and to their necessity, as you are guilty and sinful ;
of tlie benefit of all those exceeding great and pre-
cious promises, which will make a portion for you,
9, portion for ever, for the life that now is, and that
which is to come.
Peace he to you, that is, prosperity, soul prospe-
rity, all the welfare of both worlds, the unsearchable
riches of Christ,^ and all that substance which they
who love wisdom are made to inherit ;^ not only food
that you may live, but gold tried in the fire that you
knay be rich.<= AH the treasures that are hid in the
new covenant, in that abridgment of it, God will
be to you a God ; they are all your own, if you please
to make them so by a lively faith. This spiritual
wealth and riches shall be in thathouse on which this
peace rests, even righteousness that endures forever.*^
Peace be to you, that is, comfort and joy, and a
holy serenity and satisfaction of soul, such as the
smiles of the world cannot give, nor its frowns take
away ; that peace which is the effect of righteous-
ness, even quietness and assurance for ever ;« ever-
lasting consolation, and good hope through grace.
This is that wine and milk, that nourishment and
refreshment for the soul, which are to be bought
without money and without price '/ that water of life,
of which we may take freely, abundantly, and free
of cost.> This day is salvation come to this house,^
so our Saviour himself explains this comprehensive
word : Peace be to this house, all the things that
ACCOMPANY salvation.
We arc in God's name to make a general offer of
this peace to all, not knowing to whom it belongs,
or who will accept of it : as Cyrus proclaimed liberty
to all the children of the captivity, though none
shook off their chains, but those whose spirits God
raised to go up. The offer is made to you this day,
and we beseech you that you receive not the grace of God
herein in vain. You are not sure that ever you shall
have another offer made you, and therefore, for the
Lord's sake, do not reject this.
(2.) We are to pray for peace to all ; not only to
make a tender of it, but to seek unto God for it.
Peace be unto you is the benediction, which with
grace, necessarily prefixed, the apostle Paul gives
to all his friends to whom he directs his epistles,
Grace be unto you^ and peace. And all the ministers
of Christ must give themselves to prayer as well as
to the ministry of the word,*' must speak to God for
yon, as well as /rom God to you. The priests under
the law were not only to teach the people the good
knowledge of God, but to bless them in the name of
the Lord, to bless them with this blessing in the text,
• Eph. iii. 8. b Prov. viii. 21. e Rev. iii. 18. d pg. cxii. 3.
e in. xxxii. 17. f laa. Iv. I. v Rev. xxii. 17.
h Luke XIX. 9. 1 Ezra i. 3, 5. k Acts vi. 4.
The Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon thee^
and give thee peace.^
Our prayers should be mixed vrith our preaching,
as St. Paul's are with his writing, in all his epistles.
A devout and pious ejaculation in the midst of a
discourse, may help to raise the hearts of those we
speak to, as well as our own. However, our preach-
ing must be both prefaced and attended with oar
prayers, else we do but half our work, nay, we do
none at all to any purpose. The watchmen on Jeru-
salem's walls must give God no rest, but continue
instant in prayer :*" and certainly we shall do so if
we be in good earnest in our work, and desire to see
the fruit of it ; for it depends entirely on the divine
blessing. We labour in vain, if. God say of us as he
did of some of the prophets of old, they shall not profit
this people at all:'^ nor will our pains in dressing the
vineyard turn to any account, if God command the
clouds that they rain no rain upon it.^ And the dews
of this blessing must be fetched down by prayer.
God will for it be inquired of, and it is fit he should.
It is certain that God's grace can bring people to
heaven without our preaching : but our preaching
can never bring people to heaven without God's
grace; and, therefore, we should be as much in
care, as much in eame.st, to pray for the operations of
grace, as to p^^opose the offers of grace ; and may
better expect in that way to succeed. If we cannot
preach people to Christ, let us endeavour to pray them
to Christ ; for in vain do we merely prophesy upon
the dry bones, saying, Oye dry bones, hear the word of
the Lord, for though the effect of it may be a noise
and a shaking, yet still there is no breath in them ;
we must therefore look up, by prayer, to the Spirit,
as the prophet did. Come, O breath, and breathe
upon these slain ;^ and if a spirit of life from God
enter into them, then, and not till then, we gain our
point. God can persuade Japhet to dwell in the tents
of Shem,<i when we cannot.
Let us therefore pray for the peace of the church
— ^the house — ^the heart — ^into which we enter with
the gospel : that is,
[1.] We must earnestly desire the welfare and sal-
vation of precious souls ; and not be cold and indiffer-
ent about it We know not God's secret vrill, and
therefore must concur with his revealed will ; by
which it appears, not only that he does not desire
the death of sinners, but that he most pathetically
wishes their life and happiness ; O that thou hadst
hearhened to my commandment ." says he ; O that
Israel had walhed in my ways /* And when they pro-
mised fair, O that there were such a heart in them /*
And thus should we stand affected : — '* Here are
precious souls, capable of eternal bliss, but in dan-
ger of eternal ruin ; O that we could prevail with
1 Numb. vi. 26. m Issu Ixii. C,
o laa. V. 6. p Ezek. xxxvii. 7—10.
r Isa. xlviii. 18.
• Ps. Ixxxi. 13.
B Jer. xxiil. 39.
q Gen. ix. 27.
t Deal. V. 39.
WORK AND SUCCESS OF THE MINISTRY.
761
them to flee from the wrath to come, and to lay hold
on everlastiDg life ! O that we might be instrumental
to snatch them as brands out of the burning, and to
present them as living sacrifices to God !"
We should earnestly desire the salvation of all,
and the iuectss of the gospel in the hands of others ;
St. Paul was the apostle of the Gentiles ; and yet
bis heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is,
That they may be saved," and that the apostles of
the circumcision might see of the fruit of their
labours. But we should, in a special manner, be
wlicitons for the spiritual welfare of those to whom
tct are sent, and with whom we deal; the flourishing
of the vineyards which we are made the keepers of.
These were to the apostle as his children, his little
chiidreo, whom he had a particular tenderness for,
and of whom he even travailed in birth again to see
Christ formed in them ;* he was even pained to see
the accomplishment of his desires and hopes con-
cerning them. How greatly did he long after them
ti// m the bowels of Christ Jesus,'' The Lord fill all
his ministers with such a love as this to precious
souls ; that, as Titus did, we may walk in the same
spirit, in the same steps, with blessed Paul ; being
Hilling and glad, as he was, to spend and to be
spent for their good.'
[2.] These desires of the salvation of souls must
le offered up to God in prayer. We must look up
to God, and beg of him to pity and help those whom
we pity, but cannot help without his grace, that are
vet in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity,
<ind to deliver them from going down to the pit.
^\'e bring them the means of grace ; but we must
look up to him for a blessing upon those means, and
for grace to go along with them, to make them elTec-
taal. When as friends of the bridegroom, we court
the affections of souls for him, that they may be
(^spoused to him, we must do as Abraham's servant
did, look up to heaven for success : O Lord God of
my master Abraham^ T pray thee send me good speed
this day ;y let the message of peace be entertained,
and that faithful saying, which is so well worthy of
ail acceptation, be believed and accepted.
When we say. Peace be unto yon, we mean, The
Lord of peace himself give you peace, true peace,
all peace, always, by all means ;* that peace of God
vhich will rule in your hearts,* and make them holy,
and which will keep your hearts and minds,!* and
make them calm and easy. We can but speah the
^ords of peace, it is God only who can speak peace,
that can create peace, and in his hands therefore we
leave the work. We do but go, as Gehazi, with
Elisha's stafl^ which will not awake the dead child :
Day, Elisha can but stretch himself upon the child ;
he must look up to the God of life for the spirit of
life to enter into him.^ We cannot by any power of
■ Rom. X. 1. » Gal. iv. 19. w Phil. i. 1. » 2 Cor. xii. 15, 18
7 Gen. xxiv. 13. « 2The9s. iii. 1& a Col. iii. ly
our own make dead sinners alive, or drooping saints
lively ; we must therefore have our eyes up to the
Lord, to say unto them " Live,'*^-^^ijo say, as one hav-
ing authority, (for we can only show our good will,)
Peace be unto you,
[3.] It is good to let those we preach to know that
we pray for them. We must not only say to God,
Peace be to this house, but we must say it in the hear-
ing of those that dwell in it. St. Paul, in his epis-
tles, often tells his friends what those things were for
which he prayed for thein, that they might be en-
couraged to hope they should obtain those blessings
in answer to his prayers, and might with the more
boldness ask them of God for themselves. The
blessings which Christ's ministers pronounce on the
congregations of his people, is not to be thought
lightly of, but to be reverently waited for, and gladly
received, because God, in it, puts his name upon
them.* And if we in faith say Ameu to it, we may
hope that God will, and then we are blessed indeed.
We should take all opportunities to make those
we preach to sensible, how truly and earnestly de-
sirous we are of their eternal peace and welfare ;
that, if possible, we may awaken them to a due
concern about it, and convince them that we love
them, which will very much facilitate the entertain-
ment of our message. We should make it appear,
even to those who turn a deaf ear to our calls, that
nevertheless we dare not sin against the Lord in ceas-
ing to pray for them. Our Lord Jesus by his tears
and good wishes testified his good will to Jerusalem,
even when the things which belong to her peace were
hid from her eyes.'
We now see our work, and something of the
meaning of the words here put into our mouths ;
Peace be to this house. Peace be to this congregation.
The Lord help us to carry them through all our
preaching, and praying, with a sincere love to Christ
and souls.
IL What the success of ministers is, and is likely
to be, in their preaching and praying ; what is the
fruit of their labour, and what the effect of their
going thus from place to place, speaking peace
wherever they come, peace and truth.
As to themselves : — If they be faithful in the trust
reposed in them, and their hearts upright with God
in the discharge of it, whatever acceptance they and
their message meet with among men, they are sore
to be accepted of the LoVd,< and that they are am-
bitious of, and labour for. We are a sweet savour
unto God in those that perish, as well as in those that
aresaved,^ if we be sincere in doing our part. Though
we should not gain our point, yet we shall in no
wise lose our reward ; though it be not well succeed-
ed, if it be said, ^* Well done thou good and faithful
servant,*' we shall enter into the joy of our Lord,^
b PliH. iv. 7. e 3 Kinffs iv. 31 . 34. d Ezelc. xvi. 6. « Numb. vi. 37.
f Luke ux. 41. g 8 Cor. v. 0. h 2 Cor. it 15. 1 lAatt. xzv. 81
702
A SERMON CONCERNING THE
Our Master himself, thoug^fa as to tbe chosen rem-
nant, he was sure to see of the travail of his soal* to
his satisfaction ; yet, as to others, he had recourse
to this for his comfort. Though Israel be not gathered,
yet shall I be glorious.^ As we mast deliver our mes-
sage to those with whom we deal, whether they will
hear or whether they will forhear,' so when we come
to return an answer,, if we have delivered it faithfully,
we shall g^ve up an account of ourselves with joy,
though of many we give up our account with grief.
Though Wisdom herself calls, and yet is refused, she
will he justified of all her children,"* and glorified of
God ; and so shall Wisdom's maidens. But,
As to those to whom we minister : — ^the success is
varied ; not the same with all. On some, the peace
comes which we preach and pray for ; on others, it
does not. Some are the better for our preaching and
praying : to them the word is a savour of life unto
life," of life spiritual unto life eternal ; they are onr
comfort, and will be our crown. But others get no
good at all by the instructions given them, and the
pains we take with them ; even the word of life is to
them a savour of death unto death ; instead of mak-
ing them better it makes them worse, hardens their
hearts, and aggravates their corruption, and so they
are twice dead. ^ Those of the same family, the same
fraternity, who have had the same education, have
Bitten under the same ministry, and have given to
each other the right hand of fellowship, may yet
experience the effects of the word thas vastly dif-
ferent. Two in a bed together f^—one tahen for life,
the other left to perish. p
We are ready to think the case is so plain on re-
ligion's side, that with all to whom it is fairly stated
it should of itself carry immediate conviction ; that
Christ and holiness have such beauty in them, with-
out comparison, and without controversy, that all we
preach to should presently be brought to be in love
with them. But, alas, it is not so ; after all, many do
not believe our report ;** nay, few in comparison do.
As it was among Pharaoh's servants, some took the
warning given of the impending plague of hail, and
housed their cattle ; '' others did not, but left them
in the field ; so when St Paul preached, some be-
lieved the things that were spoken," but others be-
lieved not, though they were spoken with such con-
vincing evidence. Thus it has been constantly from
the d|iys of the prophets unto this day ; and thus it
will he : the good seed of the word falls on some
ground where it is lost and thrown away ; on other,
where it takes root and brings forth fruit. The
preaching of Christ and the apostles, was acceptable
and profitable to some, while others contradicted
and blasphemed it. And if we see the like still, we
are not to marvel at the matter.
i Isa. liii. n.
1 Ezek. ii. 6.
« Jude 13.
k In. xlix. 6.
m Prov. 1. 84. a 3 Cor. Ii. 16.
F Luke xvii. 34. n Isa. liii. I.
2. It is unknown to us what the success of oM
ministry will be, and perhaps what it is. When tbs
disciples were to say. Peace be to this homttj they
could not tell whether the Son of peace were there
or no ; nay, it may be when they became better ao|
quainted with the house, yet they could not with
certainty discover whether their peace did rest opoi
it, or no : The Lord hnoweth them that are his,^ bat
we do not. God did indeed assure Paul, for hill
encouragement to preach the gospel at Corinth, that
he had much people in that city." But, ordiDari]y,|
we cast the net into the sea, not knowing whetherj
any thing will be enclosed ; nay, oftentimes we toil
all night, and catch nothing, when we promised our-
selves a full draught* And, on the other hand,
after many disappointments, at Christ's word we let I
down the net, and enclose a great multitude.
Sometimes we meet not with the success we hoped
for. Those who seemed very willing to hear us, vet
we cannot persuade to heed us, nor to mix faith with
what they hear. We are to them as a lovely son^/
but that is all. Paul was called, by vision, to
Macedonia; and yet, at his first coming, there
appeared but a slender harvest to be gathered io.
Nay, those with whom we thought we had gained
our point, sometimes disappoint us, and prove not
as we expected ; the hopeful buds and blosaoms are
blasted, and no fruit is brought forth to perfection.
Those who seemed enclosed in the gospel net, slip
through again and are gone ; and after they had
escaped the corruption that is in the world, are agaio
entangled therein, and overcome ;' and forfeit the
peace we hoped should have rested upon them. It
was Christ's prerogative to know what was in men,
and what they would prove.
Sometimes ministers have better success than they
looked for. Nineveh repents at the preaching of
Jonah ; and the publicans and harlots were wrought
on by John the Baptist's ministry, notwithstanding
the great austerity of his conversation. The chorch
has sometimes been herself surprised with the motti-
tude of her converts, and has asked. Who hath be-
gotten those ff Who are these that Jig as a chud^
The beginning perhaps was small, and as a grain of
mustard seed ; but the latter end greatly increases.
The seed that seemed lost under the clods, springs
up a great while after. One labours, and another
enters into his labours ;* one hand lays a foanda-
tion, and another builds upon it. John the Baptist
was sent to prepare the way of the Lord, and mach
of the good effect of his ministry appeared when he
was gone. Many a minister does more good than
he thinks he does, more than he can know, and
more than perhaps it is fit he should know. It will
be all in good time to know what fish are enclosed
r Exod. ix. 90. • Acts xxviit. 94. t 2 Tim. ii. 19.
n AcU xviii. 10. ▼ Luke y. 6. w Esek. xxxiii. 31
« 9 Pet. i4. 20. y Isa. xUv. 91. t Isn. Ix 8. • Jolin iv. .•«.
WORK AND SUCCESS Ot» THE MINISTRY.
763
in the net when it is brought to shore. There is a
day in which the Kecrets of all hearts will be mani-
fested ; and let as jadge nothing before that time.
3. The success of our ministry will be according as
people «re. So much is intimated in the text ; ac-
cording as the inhabitants are sons of peace, or not,
accordingly our peace will, or will not* rest upon the
house. The physic operates according to the con-
ititotion of the body ; the same sun softens wax, and
hardens clay ; reeifntur ad modum recipienti» — the
effect depends «/Nm the temper with which it is re-
re»«c(. The same parables which made divine truths
mote plain and familiar to those who were humble
aod willing to be taught,^ made them more obscure
to those who were proud and prejudiced, and will-
ioglj ignorant* Christ himself is a precious stone
to tbem who believe ; but to them who be disobedi-
ent be is a stone of stumbling. There are scomers,
nbo, when we have naid all we can, will delight in
scorning, and fools who will hate knowledge ;^ but
there are Bereans, who are more noble and better
(lisposed,* wise just men» who will receive instruc-
tioD, and will be yet wiser, and increase in learning.^
)f oar gospel be hid, it is hid from those whose
minds Satan has blinded.t If it be revealed, it is
to those who have the spirit of wisdom and under-
standiog though they be but babes.^
4. The success of our ministry will be as God
fieuft ; according as he gives, or withholds, bis
grace. The word of God, like the rain, shall accom-
plish that for which he sends it,* and causes it to
come, whether (as Elihu says of the rain) it be for
nrrtetionn vr for his landj or for mercy f- but what-
ever errand it is sent upon, it shall not return to him
>oid. If Lydia attend to the things that are spoken
bj Paul, it is not' because he b an eloquent preacher,
or because she is a considerate hearer, but because the
Lord opens her heart.' Paul may plant j and Apollos
Mjr rafer, but it is God only that yiveth the increase.^
We have but the dispensing of the means of grace ;
and we must be careful and faithful in doing it ;
but we have not the dispensing of the grace which
is necessary to make those means effectual ; God
reserves that in bis own hand, and dispenses it ac-
cording to his own pleasure, as it is fit he should,
for it is his own* In this, our blessed Saviour him-
ielf acquiesced ; and thereby has taught us to do
^; Even so, Father , for so it seemed good in thy
n^Ar." Hath not the potter power over the clay ?
As to our success :
(1-) The text gives us encouragement to hope, that
^oc shall be the better for our praying and preach-
ing ; we shall meet with those who are sons of peace,
^ho are disposed to submit to the commands, and
k Matt. xlii. 13, 16. e 1 Pet. il. 7, 8. d Pror. I. 22.
• Acts xTii. II. f Prov. \x. 9. r 2 Cor. iv. 3. 4.
*> UatL Ki. 25. i Ua. W. 10, 11. k Job xx.t7ij. 13.
< Acts xTi. 14. m I Cor. iii. 6^7. • Luke x. 2h
qualified to partake of the privileges, of the gospel
peace. As Wisdom is said to be justified by her
children, so peace, to be welcomed by her sons ; and
on the houses where these sons of peace are, our
Master does us the honour to tell us, that our peace
shall rest. It is his peace ; but he is pleased to call
it ours, because we are concerned, in the first place,
to make sure an interest in it ourselves ; and because
we are intrusted to make a tender of it to others.
It is our peace, in the same sense that St. Paul calls
the gospel my gospel,^ because he was a minister and
messenger of it. If the master of the family be a
son of peace, your peace shall rest upon the whole
house ; they will all fare the better for his accept-
ance of your ministry ; Believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shaU he saved, and thy house,^ And
the more diffusive your benign influences are, the
more satisfaction it will be to you. We may com-
fort ourselves with this, as St» Paul does, that we so
run, not as uncertainly, we so fight, not as those
that beat the air ;*> though some reject our message,
to others it will be acceptable ; so that whatever our
melancholy fears sometimes may be, we shall not
labour in vain, nor spend our strengtii for nought
and in vain. But,
Who are the sons of peace, on whose heads, and
hearts, and houses, the blessings of peace shall
come ? I answer,
[1.] Those who are so by the designation of the
divine counsel; the chosen of God, whom he hath
set apart for himself to be vessels of mercy.'^ We
read of those whom God has as his people, and whom
Christ has as his sheep,* who are yet to be effectu*
ally called, and brought home. As a son of death
is one destined to death, so a son of peace is one
predestined to peace. The elect are sons of peace i
for they are heirs of it, and were from eternity, in
the covenant of redemption, given to Christ who is
our peace, and the Prince of peace, to be his chil-
dren, to bear his image, partake of his nature, and
be under his tuition, and as such to be presented
to the Father ; Behold t and the children which
God has given me} My peace I leave with you. The
covenant of peace between God and man, is grounded
upon the counsel of peace which was between the
leather and the Son " from eternity, concerning the
salvation of the chosen remnant.
Now it is certain, that all who were given to
Christ, shall come unto him, and none of them
perish ;^ for he will be able to give a good account
of them all in the great day, and none of them shall
be missing. Therefore it is, that as many as were
ordained to eternal life shall infallibly believe,* for
the election shall obtain, though the rest be blinded,'
9 Rom. il. IS. p Acts x«i. 31. q 1 Cor. ix. 26.
r Acts xviii. 10. • John x. 16. t Heb. ii. 13.
u Zech. xvii. la ▼ John vl. 39, 4a.
w Acts xiii. 48. X Rom. xl. t.
764
A SERMON CONCERNING THE
because the foundation of God stands sure, and none
of his purposes are abortive. Those whom God has
ordained to glory shall be brought to it by the ordi-
nary means of grace and peace ; and ministers are
sent in pursuance of that design, that the purpose of
God according to election may stand J
[2.] Those who are so by the operations of the
divine grace. They are the sons of peace, in whom
God has wrought a gracious readiness to admit the
word of the gospel in the light and love of it ; whose
hearts are made soft to receive the impressions of it,
so that they are turned as clay to the seal. Those
come to Christ, and so come under the dominion of
this peace, whom the Father draws* by preparing
grace, and whom, though unwilling, he makes will-
ing in the day of his power,* by opening their un-*
derstandings, and making their hearts to burn within
them ; of which two great works of divine g^ace,
one on the intellectual, the other on the active,
powers of the soul, our Lord Jesus gave remarkable
specimens while he was here upon earth, after his
resurrection, Luke xxiv. 32, 45.
They are the sons of peace ; that is, qualified to
receive the comforts of the everlasting gospel ; in
whom there is a good work of grace wrought, that
whereas they were by nature vain, and carnal, and
worldly, are become serious, and holy, and heavenly ;
who are born again, bom from above, and partake of
a new nature. To those who are sanctified, and to
those only, we are commissioned to speak peace.
Therefore the apostolical benediction puts grace be-
fore peace ; Grace be unto you, and, then, peace.
Those only who have received the spirit of holiness,
are entitled to the consolations of God.
(2.) Wherein shall those who are thus the sons of
peace be the better for our ministry ? We are here
told, that our peace shall rest upon them, that is,
[1.] Our prayers for them shall be heard. And
even with an eye to our prayers, and in answer to
them, as well as to his own promises, and in per-
formance of them, God will bestow upon them all
that good which is necessary, and will be suflicient,
to make them happy for ever and easy now. When
we bespeak peace /or them, God will speak peace
to them, he will bless his people with peace ;*> will
pay out the legacy which Christ has left, by his
last will and testament, to all who are his disciples
indeed, upon our suing it out for them, — even his
peace.' This is an encouragement to us to pray
particularly for good Christians who are troubled in
mind, and are of a sorrowful spirit ; and to be hum-
bly earnest with God in prayer for them, when it
may be they cannot with any confidence pray for
themselves — that it is here promised that peace shall
be given, to all those to whom it belongs, in answer
f Rom. ix. 11.
bPB. xxix. n.
• Ps. Ixxxv. 8.
s John vl. 44.
« John xiv. 27.
• Ps. ex. a
d James t. ig.
f Ps. xcvii. n.
to our prayers ; so that the effectually fervent prayej
of a righteous man may avail mu^hr* and wha<
a joy may it be to us, if we thus become helpers ol
the joy of the Lord's people ! And though the an^
swer of peace does not come quickly, we must con*
tinue to pray and wait, and hearken what God tb«
Lord will speak ; for, sooner or later, he will speak
peace to his people and to his saints.* Light is
sown for them,' and in due time it will come up id
a harvest of joy, though it may be it was sown id
tears.
When we pronounce the blessing of peace upod
a mixed congregation, — as to them who are indeed!
the sons of peace, God will say Amen to the blessing,
will put his Jiat — let it be done, to it, " They are
blessed and they shall be blessed." We pray for
all, — God will hear us for those who are the children
of the covenant, and the promise ; as Abraham pnirs
for Ishmael,' and God hears him for Isaac. As the
hand of his wrath shall find out all his enemies ;^ so
the hand of his grace and blessing shall find oat all
his friends, wherever they are, none of them shall be
lost in the crowd.
[2.] Our preaching to them shall answer the end,
and be effectual. If they be the sons of peace, the
glad tidings of peace we bring shall instruct themJ
and increase their knowledge ; shall invite tbeoi to
Christ, and strengthen their faith in him ; shall work
upon their affections, and inflame their love to him ;
shall govern them, and influence their whole con-
versation ; shall comfort them, and enlarge their
hearts to run the way of God's commandments. Oar
peace shall come upon them as a light shining from
heaven to guide their feet into the paths of peace,
and in those paths ; nay, it shall come upon them as
power from on high, botli to rule their hearts,' and
give law to them ; and to keep their hearts,^ and
give comfort to them. It shall come upon them, as
the rain comes copiously upon the earth to water it:
and they shall drink in this rain, and bring forth
herbs meet for them by whom they are dressed.^
But O what a comfort is it, to be instrumental
in furthering the holiness, and joy, of the sons of
peace; in carrying the heirs of heaven forward
toward their inheritance ! Herein, we have the ho-
nour of being workers together with God ; and as
under shepherds, serving the gracious purposes of
the chief Shepherd, who gathers the lambs in his
arms, and carries them in his bosom."
[3.] The fruit of both shall remain ;" your peace
shall not only come, but rest, upon the sons of p^a<^^<
it shall continue with them, and they shall never
lose the power and benefit of it ; it is a good par^
which shall never be taken away" from those who
have it ; this peace shall take such deep rooting m
ff Gen. xvii. 18, 19.
k Phil. iv. 7.
B John XV. IS.
h Ps. xxL 8.
I Heb. vi. 7.
i Col iil. 15
nlsaxl. H
9 Luke X. *«■
WORK AND SUCCESS OF THE MINISTRY.
765
the sodI that it sball never be extirpated ; it shall
be a well of living water which shall still springy up
to life eternal.* Oar Saviour encouraged his disci-
ples with this, when he sent them forth into his har-
vest,—That they were gathering fruit unto life eter-
nal ;f in which both he who sows and they who
feap shall for ever rejoice together.
(3.) The text also shows us that we ought not to
be overmuch discouraged in our work, though there
be many who are never the better for our praying
and preaching. If the sons of peace be not among
those to whom we bring the glad tidings of peace ;
if those to whom we minister be wilful and obstinate,
and tarn a deaf ear to the calls of the word, and will
not hearken to the voice of the charmer ; if we can-
not fasten any thing upon them, to convince them
of their folly in a sensual indulgence of the body,
and a senseless neglect of their souls ; — ^they who
wtre filthy, are filthy still ; and all the day long do
we stretch out our hands in vain to a rebellious gain-
sajiog people.
Id this case, onr own hearts suggest to us many
sad thoughts : It is a temptation to us to question
tbe credibility and acceptableness of the truths we
preach, when there are so many who cannot be
biOQght to entertain them, and submit to them ; to
^aestioD whether it be any advantage to have the
oracles of God and the means of grace, and whether
it were not as good be without them, since to so many
vbo have them they are in vain. But we have ready
an answer to this temptation, What if tome did not
Mine ? (Nay, what if many did not ?) Shall their
viMff invalidate the covenant of grace and peace,
and meke the truth of God of none effect ? God forbid .'<)
We are told, previously, that so it would be ; and,
therefore, it ought not to be a stumbling-block to
Q& And the reason why they do not believe, and
are not sons of peace, is not because there wants
vsy thing to recommend this peace to them, but be-
cause their minds are blinded by the love of the world
ud the lusts of the flesh, and they will not come to
Christ for eye-salve, will not come to him that they
nisfat have life.'
It is likewise a temptation to us to question, Whe-
tber we have the presence of God with us in our
ninistiy, or no ? We are ready to say, as Gideon did,
If the Lord be with v#, where are all the wonders that
nrfatkert told us of?* the wonders that were wrought
^y the powers of the word, in casting down imagina-
^s, and bringing high thoughts into obedience to
Christ:* we now see not such signs; there are no
iMre any converts ; or, very few like the grape-
gieanings of the vintage.
As to this, the text intimates that which may en-
^^n^t as, and g^ve us satisfaction. If we meet
vith those who are not the sons of peace,
• Jolm IT. 14. p John iv. 38. « Rom. lit. 3. r John v. 40.
> Jod. vi. 11 t 2 Cor. x. 5. « I JohD v. IS. « laa. xlyiii. 20-n
[1.] It is true that our peace shall not come, or
rest, upon them, as it does upon them who are the
sons of peace ; our prayers are not heard for them.
We know not who have sinned unto death, while
there is life there is hope, and therefore we arc to
pray for the worst ; but if we did know, concerning
any, as certainly as Samuel did concerning Saul,
that God had rejected them, we should have very
little reason to pray for them. There is a sin, a sin-
ner, unto death; I do not say that he shall pray for
it.^ Our preaching speaks no comfort to them ; for
we are to separate between the precious and the vile.
And at the same time we say, God has redeemed his
servant Jacob, and they thirsted not when he led them
through the deserts, we must add, yet there is no peace,
saith the Lord, unto the wicked/ When this bless-
ing is pronounced upon the congregation, those in
it who are not the sons of peace have no part or lot
in the matter,^ it is not designed for them. Behold,
my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry.'^ It is
true, that grace and peace shall be with them all
who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity ;f but it
is as true, that if any man love not the Lord Jesus
Christ, he is, and shall be, anathema : maran-atha,^
accursed : the Lord comes/ The blessing that rests
upon the sons of peace shall never come upon the
sons of Belial.
In God's name I therefore testify, to all who
hear me this day, If you do not submit your souls
to the sanctifying, commanding power of the gospel
truths, they speak, they bring, no peace to you.
You have no right to the blessings of the covenant,
nor can lay any claim to its comforts, unless you
come up to the terms of the covenant, and come
under the bonds of it. Those and those only shall
find rest for their souls* iu Christ, who are willing
to take his yoke upon them. You have many excel-
lent ministers, and a great deal of lively, serious,
powerful preaching ; you have precept upon precept,
and line upon line : but all this will bring no peace
to you, if you continue under the power of a vain
and carnal mind, — nay, it will but aggravate your
condemnation another day.
We dare not speak peace to those to whom the
God of heaven does not speak peace ; nor tell those
who go on still in their trespasses, they shall have
peace notwithstanding ; we should be false to God
and your souls if we did. However you may flatter
yourselves, we dare not flatter you, in a sinful way ;
we have not seen visions of peace for you, and
therefore must not speak words of peace to you. To
what purpose would it be to daub a wall with «fi-
tempered mortar,^ which would soon fall and bury
you, and us too, in the ruins of it? We must say to
every impenitent sinner, as Jehu did to Joram's mes-
senger, iv/iat hast thou to do with peace .^ True peace
w ActA vili. 91. s laa. xW. 13. 7 Eph. vl. 24. ■ I Cor. xvi. n,
a Matt. xi. ao. <> Ezek. xlii. 10, 16. e 3 Kings ix. is.
766
A SERMON CONCERNING THB
thou canst not hare withoat holiness. Be willing
therefore, and obedient ; and now at length, in this
thy day, understand the tkings which belong to thy
peace ; for, (blessed be God !) yet, they are not hid
from thine eyes.
[2.] The peace that does not find sons of peace to
rest upon shall turn to us again. And this ought to
satisfy us ; as it quieted David, when he prayed for
his persecutors, that though his Idndness did not
work upon them, nor were his prayers heard for them
perhaps, yet they returned into his own bosom.*'
Our peace shall turn to us ; that is,
(1.) We shall haye the comfort of having done
our duty to God, in discharge of our trust ; and of
having done our part toward their salvation, in love
to their souls. This will be peace to us, though it be
not peace to them. Abundance of peace we may have
in our own bosoms, if we have the testimony of our
consciences for us, that we have dealt plainly with
them, have given them fair warning of their misery
and danger by reason of sin, have said again and
again, O wiched man, thou shalt surely die f have
endeavoured to open to them the remedial law of
repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord
Jesus Christ ; and have not wilfully kept back any
thing that was profitable to them ;' though we have
piped to them and they have not danced, have
mourned unto them, and they have not lamented.'
We have done what we could, to frighten them from
sin with the terrors of the law, and to allure them
to Christ with the comforts of the gospel ; but all in
vain, they have not been wrought upon either by
the one or by the other : yet their infidelity and ob-
stinacy shall be no bar to our acceptance with God,
who will have an eye to our sincerity, not to our
success.
. This peace will be our peace still, if we have
some good hope, through grace, that though we can-
not prevail with others to come to Christ, yet we
have ourselves an interest in him ; i)^nit we shall
save ourselves, though we save not all who hear us ;'■
that whatever becomes of them, we shall not be cast
away at last. If othere be not the better for our
labours, the peace may return to ourselves, if we be
the better; for we preach to ourselves, and must
edify ourselves ; and the less good we think we do
to others' souls, the more good let us endeavour to
get to our own souls, and then take the comfort of
it When those disciples returned, to whom Christ
gave these instructions in the text, though they had
had wonderful success, even beyond their own ex-
pectation, yet Christ directs them to rejoice more in
the assurances they themselves had of their own
bliss, than in their triumphs over Satan in others :
In this rejoice not, that the devils are subject to you,
but rather rejoice that your names are written in
A Psalm xzxv. 13. • Ezek. xxxili. S. f Acts zx. 20, 21.
ff Matt xf . IT. h t Tim. iv. 16. i Luke x. ao.
heaven.^ And this cause for joy every faithful min-
ister has, though he has not the success he wishes for.
(2.) We shall have commission to go on in our
work notwithstanding. Our peace shall turn to us
again ; not only to be enjoyed by ourselves, but to be
bestowed upon others, and communicated to them,
to the next we meet with who are sons of peace. If
one will not be wrought upon, it is to be hoped an-
other will. Though many disbelieve our report, yet
all do not ; there are some who will bid it welcome.
Though the body of the Jewish nation rejected the
gospel of Christ, yet at this present time/ (sajs the
apostle,) when the ferment is at the highest, and the
opposition given to the gospel is most violent, yet
there is a remnant according to the election of graee^
a remnant even of that nation, who are sons of peace.
And when the Jews thrust the kingdom of Grod away
from them by their unbelief, the Gentiles embraced
it with both arms. The peace which the apostles
made a tender of to them, but they refused, was still
in their hands, to carry to the Gentiles : Xo, we turn
to them.^
It is indeed a temptation to us, when oar message
is slighted, to say. We will go no more on this er-
rand ; as Jeremiah was ready to say, when his min-
istry was ridiculed, / will not mahe mention of the
Lord, nor speah any more in his name r"* but we must
never yield to any temptation of this kind, for woe
unto us, if we preach not the gospel, as we have op-
portunity, whatever the issue be. If men will not
hear us, our God will ; and will crown humble, ho-
nest labours in his service with comfort and glory,
though they should not be crowned with any re-
markable success.
(3.) We shall be witnesses against those who re-
fuse so fair an offer. Our peace shall return to us
again, as the summons is returned to the ofllcer, if
the party summoned is not to be found, that It may
be produced in evidence, that he was legally sum-
moned. The gospel is a testimony to us ;* but if we
receive it not, it will be a testimony against us.*
And the ministers of that gospel, who now follow
you with importunity from day to day, beseeching
you in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God, but
all in vain, will give up a sad account concerning
yon ; and yon will be upbraided with all the pains
they have taken among you ; it will all be brought
into the account, with a '* Son remember ;" that will
enhance the reckoning, and inflame the torment.
The servant who was sent to invite the guests to the
wedding supper, when he met with a repulse, came
and showed his lord all these things.** Ministers
bring in an account of the fruit of their labours.
While the sons of peace will be their joy and crown
of rejoicing, those who continue in a state of en-
mity will be for ever struck speechless by their testi-
k Rom. xi. 3.
n Matt. xxir. 14.
I AcU xili. 4S.
o Matt. X, 18,
m Jer. X. 9.
P Luke xlv. 21.
WORK AND SUCCESS OF THE MINISTRY.
767
mony against them 2 " Lord, we called, bat they re-
fiued ; we warned them, day and night, with tears,
bnt they stiffened their necks and hardened their
hearts, and sent ns away grieyed." Many a time
tbey complained of it at the throne of grace, and it
made their work go on heavily npon their hands,
their ^oals wept in secret for it ; but when they shall
testify it before the throne of judgment, they will
awfally applaud and acquiesce in the sentence past
npoD them, and be content to see them perish.
Let us now make some application of all briefly.
1. Let this awaken us who are ministers to be
faithful, and serious, and diligent in delivering our
message ; as those who are in some measure sensi-
ble of the vast importance of the work we are em-
ployed in, and the dispensation that is committed to
OL O that I coald stir up my own heart, and yours,
daly to consider the inestimable value of that trea-
sare which is lodged in us, though we are but earthen
Tessela ;** that peace which we are to bring in God's
name to mankind ; those talents with which we are
to trade till our Lord comes. Let us think who we
are in trust for: for Christ and his honour, and
the interests of bis kingdom among men ; for pre-
cioQs souls, and their everlasting welfare. We
deal in matters of life and death ; O let our care
and zeal be proportionable; and let us make a
business of our ministry, let us wait upon it,' and
give ourselves wholly to it,' as those who must give
accoant, — ^that our Lord when he comes may find us
doing, to doing.
If we be unskilful, and know not how to divide
the word of troth and peace aright ;' if we be un-
faithful, and soothe men up in their sins, or any way
handle the word of God deceitfully, seeking our own
things more than the things of Christ ; if we be
slothful, and unwilling to take pains, not affected
osrseWes with the great things of God with which it
is oar business to affect others ; if we be lifeless and
careless in praying and preaching, and defeat the
end of the matter of both by the slight manner of the
perfonnance ; — ^we shall have a great deal to answer
for another day. If the watchmen do not give wam-
ingr or not so that it is likely to be heard or heeded,
the sinners will perish ; but their blood will be re-
quired at the watchmen's hands."
And let us remember that we are to bring peace
vith us in all onr ministrations, that peace of God
vhich passeth all conception and expression ; and
therefore we ought to apply ourselves to that busi-
ness, and not meddle with things that belong not to
OS. We are ambassadors of peace ; let us not then
Mw discord, nor foment divisions ; for if we do, we
contradict our character, and forfeit the honour of
it Let us be at peace among ourselves, and covet
the blessedness of those who are peace-makers.
2. Let us, when we have done what we can, look
«2Cor. iv. 10.
r Horn. x)i. 7.
• 1 Tim. IT. 15.
up to God for the success. We ought earnestly to
desire that our labour may not be in vain, and to be
in care that nothing may be wanting on our part, in
order to the good effect of it ; we should do more
good if we were but more solicitous to do good, and
set ourselves to devise things proper for that end,
to choose out words wherevrith to reason with people
about their souls. But still we must depend upon
the blessing of heaven for their success ; and must
be earnest in prayer for that blessing. We can but
speak to. the ear, it is God only that can teach the
heart, and seal the instruction there.
When we go to study, let us pray to God to put a
word into our mouth that shall suit the case, and
reach the consciences, of those to whom we are to
speak ; to direct us both in the choice and manage-
ment of our subjects, to fill our hands, (as the He-
brew phrase for consecration,) that we may fill the
people's hearts, when we go to preach. Still we
need help from heaven to deliver onr message as be-
comes the oracles of God ; with purity, gravity, and
sincerity ; with an air of tenderness and humility,
as those who know the worth of souls, and our own
unworthiness ; and yet with an air of assurance, as
those who are confident of the truth of what we say,
and who know whom we have trusted. When we
have preached, we have but sown the seed ; still we
must look up to God to water it, and to give to every
seed its own body. When we proceed to pray, we
must fetch in the influences of the blessed Spirit, to
help us against onr praying infirmities. Nay, we
must look up to God for a blessing upon every word
of advice, reproof, and comfort that we give, that it
may answer the end.
And as we are to pray for the success of our own
endeavours, so likewise we must be earnest with
God in grayer for the ooncnrrence of his grace with
the labours of others. Thus we muMt help one an*
other ; and thus we may, though we are at a great
distance from each other, and cannot otherwise be
helpful. When the apostle forbids wishing <« good
speed '' to those who bring any other doctrine,^ it is
intimated, that it was usual with the primitive Chris-
tians and ministers to bid those " God speed " who
brought the true doctrine of Christ Those who la-
bour in Christ's harvest should be prayed for, as
of old the reapers were, by them who passed by ; 77m
blessing of the Lord he upon you ; we hUss you in the
nmme of the Lord,'' God speed the gospel-plough !
3. Let us be very careful that we do not, by any
irregularity in our conversation, hinder the success
of our praying and preaching, and defeat the ends
of them. If we be proud and vain, and loose in our
walking ; if we be intemperate, and indulgent of
the flesh ; if we be covetous, selfish, and worldly; if
we be contentious, peevish, and passionate ; or if
any corrupt communication proceed out of onr
t 2 11m. it. 1&. u Eiek. xxxiU. 6. v 3 John 10. v Pi. cxxix 8.
768
A SERMON, &c.
month ; — ^we pall down with one hand what we boild
ap with the other ; and not only tempt people, bat
even force them, to think, that we ourselves do not
believe what we would persuade them to believe ;
and when we appear most serious in our pablic per-
formances, do but act a part, and talk thus only be-
cause it is oor trade : we do also provoke God to
withdraw his presence from us, and to say, as he does
of those prophets who walk not in his counsels,
Tketf shall noi profit this people at alL*
Let our conversation be not only blameless and
harmless, but exemplary for every thing that is vir-
tuous and praise- worthy ; thus let our light shine,
that others may be taught, and guided and quick-
ened, by it. Then may we hope it shall be with us
as it was with Levi of old, who, while he walked with
God in peace and equity, tamed many away from
iniquity^
4. What success of our labours we have the com-
fort of, let God have all the glory of. Do we meet
with any of those to whom we minister in holy things,
who are awakened to a concern about their souls
and eternity, and are asking the way to Zion with
their faces thitherward?" Are there any of the
children we have catechized who hold fast the form
of sound words in faith and love, knd have we the
satisfaction of seeing them walk in the trath ? When
we look into the vineyards we are made the keepers
of, do we find that the vines do in any measure
flourish, and the tender grapes appear;* that the
souls we watch over prosper and are in health ? We
cannot but rejoice' herein, rejoice greatly; yet let us
rejoice with humility ; for I am sure we have nothing
to be proud of, nothing to boast of, but a great deal
to be ashamed of, and great reason to admire God's
gracious condescension, that he is pleased thus far
to own us, to honour us, though most unworthy. Let
us rejoice with thankfulness, with many thanks-
givings to God, whose strength is perfected in weak-
ness, and his praise ordained out of the mouth of
babes and sucklings. St Paul, in his epistles, gives
thanks to God for those churches that he had com-
fort in, and hopes of.
But let us rejoice with trembling, lest those whom
we think espoused as chaste virgins to Christ should
yet be beguiled, as Eve was, by the subtilty of the
tempter ; and let us always be jealous over them, as
Paul was over his friends, with a godly jealousy,^
lest it should prove at last we have bestowed upon
them labour in vain.'
6. What disappointments we meet with, let as bear
them patiently. Let us inquire whether we have not
been wanting in our duty, and be humbled for our
defects, and acknowledge that the Lord is righteous.
St. Paul owns, that by the miscarriages of those
among whom he had laboured, his God humbled him
s Jer. xxili. 32.
• Cant vii. 12.
7 Mai. ii. C
b 3 Cor. xi. 2, 3.
■ Jer. I. ft.
• lTbeiB.iil. ft.
among them ; ^ and the same good use we should
make of the same trial, let it help to hide pride from
us, and oblige us to depend upon the sufficiency of
divine grace, and not upon any thing in ourselves,
for without Christ we can do nothing.
When we suspect we do little good, yet let it be
a comfort to us that we are going on in the vtay of
our duty ; that we are presiding in solemn religious
assemblieSf/rom one new moon to another^ and from
one sabbath to another, and so are serving Christ and |
his glory in the world. Good may be in operation,
and we not aware of it; the gospel works like leaven,
silently and insensibly ;« and like the seed cast into
the ground, which grows up (we know not how) |
while we sleep, first the blade, then the ear, after
that the full com in the ear.' Nor let it be any un-
easiness to us, that we are kept in doubt and in the
dark concerning the success of our labours. When
the net is drawn to shore we shall see what is en-
closed ; what good fish, and what bad : ' and let us
judge nothing before the time ; the great day will
clear all, and we must wait till then.
Bat if there be those whose sins go before unto
judgment, who manifestly hate to be reformed, and
will go on frowardly in the way of their heart;
though we cannot but look upon them many a time
with a sad heart, yet in this we mast be satisfied,
that Ood will be glorified: if God be not honoured
by them, he will get him honour upon them, as he
did on Pharaoh. They to whom our labour is in vain
arc not sons of peace ; and, therefore, it should not
be expected that our peace should rest upon them ;
Christ will see his seed, and we must not think to .^ee
any other for ours. If divine mercy be not glorified
in their salvation, divine justice will be glorified in
their destruction ; and they will have nothing to say
for themselves^ nor will their ministers have any
thing to say for them : the dresser of the vineyard
who had interceded for the barren fig-tree, will be
pleased, if at length it bear frait, but if not, he gives
it up, Then after that thou shali cut it down,^
To conclude : Let this be an awakening word to
all of you. You are, in this world, probationers for
etemity ; accordingly as you are, now, sons of peace
or not, it is likely to be with you for ever. Are yoar
ministers desirous to have their peace rest upon you,
and are not yoa desirous of it ? Are they in care
about your souls, and will not you be in care about
them? Ton have life and death, good and evil, set
before you : choose life, that you may live, may live
for ever. But if you will not come up to the terms of
peace, but will perish in your rebellion, you cannot
say but yon have had fair waming given you of the
consequences of it, so that your watchmen have de-
livered their souls, and left your blood to lie upon
your own heads.
4 2 Cor. xii. 21. o Malt. ziii. 33.
r Matt. ziil. 48.
f BSark iv. 26~9S.
b Luke ziii. 19.
A SERMON
ON
THE PROMISES OF GOD.
PREACHED MAY THE 7th, 1710.
2 GoR. Tii. 1.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let
Iff deanse otareelves from all JiJlthiness of the flesh
end spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
It is the unspeakable privilege of all believers to
bafe, as a certain possession, the precious promises
of God. But under what notion have we the pro-
mises of God ?
1. We have them as manifest tokens of God's
favour towards us ; and every one of them are yea,
amen, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2. We have them as fruits of Chrisf s purchase.
The Lord haying purchased us with his own blood,
ve have these promises prodaced by that inestima-
ble grace.
3. They are plain and ample declarations of the
l^ood-will of God towards men, and therefore as
God's part of the covenant of grace.
4. They are a foundation of our faith, and we have
tbem as such ; and also of our hope, on these wc
are to build all oor expectations from God ; and in
all temptationB and trials we have them to rest our
soqIs upon.
5. We have them as the directions and encou-
xagements of oor desires in prayer. Seek and you
^1 find, knock and it shall be opened unto yoa.
Wherefore they are the guide of our desires, and
the ground of oar hope in prayer.
6. We haYC them as the means by which the
$race of God works for our holiness and comfort,
for by these we are made partakers of a divine
nature, and faithy applying these promises, is said
to work by love.
7. We have the promises as the earnest and
assurance of fatare blessedness. By these eternal
life and glory is secured to all true believers.
And now, having observed these things, let as
reriew the blessed promises of God ; and
3 D
The first is, — He hath promised that we shall be
his people.
The Scripture, — Now therefore, if ye will obey
my voice indeed, and heep my covenant, then ye shall
be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people ; for
all the earth is mine, Exod. xix. 5.
The second promise, — ^That all our sins shall be
pardoned.
/, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions
for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins,
Isa. xliii. 25.
The third, — ^That our corruptions shall be subdued.
For sin shall not hare dominion over you ; for ye
are not under the law, but under grace, Rom. vi. 14.
The fourth,— That the Spirit of grace shall be
given us, to enable us for our duty in every thing.
/ will put my Spirit within you, and cause you
to walh in my statutes, and ye shall heep my judgments,
and do them, Ezek. xxxvi. 27.
The fifth,— That God will put it particularly into
our hearts, or circumcise our hearts to love him.
The Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and
the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with
all thine heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayest
live, Deut. xxx. 6.
The sixth, — ^That he will give us the knowledge
of his truth, and the comfort and the benefit of it.
Ye shall hnow the truth, and the truth shall make
you free, John viii. 32.
The seventh, — ^That Ke will unite our hearts to
himself and to each other.
/ will give them one heart and one way, that they
may fear me for ever, for the good of them and of
their children after them, Jer. xxxii. 30.
The eighth,— That he will be tender of those that
are weak.
He shall feed his floeh like a Shepherd: he shall
gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his
bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young,
Isa. xl. 11.
770
A SERMON ON THE PROMISES.
The ninth,— That he will direct us in the way of
our duty.
Good and upright is the Lord: therefore will he
teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in
judgment, and the meek will he teach his way, Ps.
XXV. 8, 9.
The tenth,— That he will protect us from every
thing that is really evil.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall
preserve thy soul. The Lord shall preserve thy going
out and thy coming in, from this time forth and even
for evermore, Psa. cxxi. 7, 8.
The eleventh,— That he will supply us with all
good.
l^he young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but
they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing,
Ps. xxxiv. 10.
The twelfth, — That he will answer our prayers.
Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do,
that the Father may be glorified in the Son, John
xiv. 13.
The thirteenth, — ^That he will silence our fears.
/ the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying
unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee, Isa. xli. 13.
The fourteenth, — ^That he will bear us up under
our burthens.
Hie eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are
the everlasting arms, Deut. xxxiii. 27.
The fifteenth, — ^That he will give us a sure and
lasting peace.
The work of righteousness shall be peace ; and the
effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for
ever, Isa. xxxii. 17.
The sixteenth, — That he will admit us into fellow-
ship and communion with himself.
Blessed is the man whom thou ehoosest, and eausest
to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts:
we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy fiouse,
even of thy holy temple^ Ps. Ixv. 4.
The seventeenth, — ^That he will give us the com-
fortable enjoyment of ourselves.
Ilis soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall
inherit the earth, Ps. xxv. 13.
The eighteenth, — ^That he will deliver us in and
under our troubles.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will
1 deliver him: I will set him on high, because he
hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I
will answer hi$n: I will be with him in trouble; I
will deliver him and honour him, Ps. xci. 14, 15.
The nineteenth, — ^That he will affect us in measure
and in mercy, when we have need of it.
I will be his Father, and he shall be my son. If
he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of
men, and with the stripes of the children of men :
but my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I
took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee,
2 Sam. vii. 14, 15.
The twentieth, — That he will spare us with the
tenderness of a fatherly compassion.
They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that
day when I make up my jewels ; and I will spare
them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him,
Malachi iii. 17.
The twenty-first, — ^That he will not persist in his
controversy with us.
1 will not contend for ever, neither will I be alwayt
wroth : for the spirit should fail before me, and the
souls which I have made, Isa. Ivii. 16.
The twenty-second, — ^That he will speak comfort
to us when we are in sorrow.
/ will hear what God the Lord will speak : for he
will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints :
but let them not turn again to folly, Ps. Ixxxv. 8.
The twenty-third, — ^That he will proportion our
trials to our strength.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man : hut God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able ; hut
will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it, 1 Cor. x. 13.
The twenty-fourth, — ^That he will put true honour
upon us.
Them that honour me 1 will honour, 1 Sam. ii. 30.
The twenty-fifth,— That he will feed us with food
convenient for us.
Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou
dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed, ^s.
xxxvii. 3.
The twenty-sixth, — That he will clear up our in-
jured reputation.
He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,
and thy judgment as the noon^day, Ps. xxxvii. 6.
The twenty-seventh,— That he will comfort and
relieve us in sickness.
The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed €ff lan-
guishing : thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness,
Ps. xli. 3.
The twenty-eighth,— That he will prevent our
apostasy from htm.
/ will make an everlasting covenant with them, and
I wUl not turn away from them, to do them good ;
but I will put my fear m their hearts, thai they shall
not depart from me, Jer. xxxii. 40.
The twenty-ninth,— That he will make all events
conduce to our real welfare.
We know that all things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called accord-
ing to his purpose, Rom. yiii. 28.
The thirtieth,— That he will perfect the work of
grace in us.
Being confident of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until
the day of Jesus Christ, Phil. i. 6.
The thirty-fir.Ht, — ^Tbat he will be with us when
we are old, to bear us up under all our infirmities.
A SERMON ON THE PROMISES.
771
Eveu io yowr old age I am he ; and even to hoary
hairt in// / carry you : I have made, and I will bear ;
tven I wiil carry, and will deliver you, Isa. xlvi. 4.
The thirty-second, — ^That he will never desert us
in any exigence whatsoever.
For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor/orsahe
thee, Heb. xiii. 5.
The thirty-third, — ^That he will give ns victory
oTer oar spiritaal enemies.
The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your
feet shortly, Rom. xvi. 20.
The thirty-foarth, — ^That he will recompense our
charity to the poor.
He that hath pity upon the poor, lendeth vnto the
Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him
a^aiji, Prov. xix. 17.
The thirty-fifth, — That he will make up all our
losses for his name's sake.
Every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren,
or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children,
or lands for my natne's sake, shall receive an hundred-
fold^ and shall inherit everlasting life, Matt. xix. 29.
The thirty-sixth,— That he will let us live long
enoQ^h in this world, and give us a comfortable
prospect of a better.
With long life wiU I satisfy him, and show him my
sdt€tion, Ps. xci. 16.
The thirty-seventh, — ^Thathe will be with us when
ve come to die.
Yea, though I weslk through the valley of the shadow
tf death; I will fear no evU: for thou art with me;
tky rod and thy staff they comfort me, Ps. xxiii. 4.
The thirty-ei^^hth, — That he wiil receive our souls
ioto the arms of bis love.
But God will reeleem my soul from the power of the
$rine: for he shall receive me. Selah ! Ps. xlix. 15.
The thirty-ninth, — ^That he will take care of our
posterity when we are gone.
The children of thy servants shall continue, and tlteir
tttd shall he established before thee, Ps. cii. 28.
The fortieth, — ^That he will raise our bodies to life
This is the will of him that sent me. That every
<me which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may
line trerlasting life ' and I will raise him up at the
•W day, John vi. 40.
The forty-first, — That he will own us in the judg-
ment of the great day.
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men,
ffim will I comfese also before my Father which is in
^ten. Matt. x. 32.
The forty-second, — That he will put us into pos-
session of everlasting bliss.
And this is the promise that he hath promised us,
fren eternal life, 1 John ii. 25.
3 D 2
Repetition Text.
Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us
cleanse ourselves from allfilthiness of the flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,
And now what shall we say to these things ?
I.— 1. Let us be thankful to God for all these
great and precious promises, that God should not
only do us good, but engage himself by promises
to do so.
2. Let us be ashamed of ourselves that we have
not lived more upon these promises.
3. Let us encourage ourselves with these promises
to go on cheerfully and resolutely in the way of our
duty.
4. Let us acknowledge the truth of God, and his
faithfulness to his promises. There hath not failed
one word of all his good promise. Sec. 1 Kings viii. 56.
5. We are concerned to treasure up these promises,
that we may have them ready to use when we have
occasion for them, to silence our fears, and to
strengthen our faith.
6. Behold, what need we have to live by faith,
through which, and by which, we make use of these
promises. God gives by promise that we may take
by faith ; therefore set about that work, and be much
in the exercise of it.
II. Here is our duty inferred from this privilege.
Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh
and spirit : by which is understood,
1. We must abhor that which is evil, and abandon
all sin with an holy detestation.
2. We must cleave to that which is good ; we
must perfect holiness in the fear of God. Observe,
The consideration of God's promises to us should
strongly engage us against all sin, and to all duty.
To show you what strength there is in this argument
taken from the promises, to abhor that which is evfl,
observe, (1.) We are bound in gratitude to please him
who has given us so many, so great and precious,
promises, Ps. cxvi. 12. What shall I render? Oh,
how great is his goodness which he hath laid up for
them that fear him ! God hath spoken in his holi-
ness, I will rejoice, Ps. cviii. 7. Observe, (2.) We
forfeit the benefit of God's promises if we do not
make conscience of, and endeavour to keep, his
commands. Let us therefore fear, lest a promise
being left us of entering into his rest, any of you
should seem to come short of it, Heb. iv. I.
III. We are taught the blessed fruits of these
promises.
1. These promises furnish us with strength and
grace sufficient against sin, and for duty. Turn
you at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my Spirit
upon you, I will make known my words unto you.
2. These promises speak the language of Caleb
and Joshua, who said, We are well able to overcome
772
A SERMON ON THE PROMISES.
the people, when they are about to enter into
Canaan; while the other spies discouraged the*
tribes. Thus we may say, through the strength of
divine grace, we shall be well enabled to overcome
all our spiritual enemies, namely, the world, flesh,
and devil, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. Observe it
3. God is faithful to these promises which he has
made to us. Therefore we must not be false to those
promises which we have made to him, Heb. x. 23.
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without
wavering, for he is faithful that promised.
4. In having these promises we have great honour
put upon us, and we ought to carry it as becomes
us. God has promised to be to us a faithful God, a
loving, a tender Father. Let us not wander out of
the way of duty. If we have received the promise,
as Abraham did, we ought to do some great act, in
our obedience to his commands, as he did.
5. The promises secure to us an abundant reward
for our obedience ; therefore let us be stedfast and
immovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, knowing that our labour shall not be in vain
in the Lord, 1 Cor. xv. 58.
And now having observed these things concerning
the promises, let us explain fully the duty which is
inferred. It contains two parts,
I. To be cleansed from all filthiness of flesh and
spirit.
II. To perfect holiness in the fear of God.
I. We must be cleansed, &c.
1. Therefore let us look upon sin as filthiness;
let the grace of God, and the purity, not only of his
nature, but also of his word and promises, make
sin more odious and terrible than in the threatenings
it appears dangerous. In the promises, sin appears
loathsome, and filthiness itself. For, observe, (1.) It
is odious to God, contrary to that purity of nature
which appears in his promises, which should deter
us from sin, Jer. xliv. 4. Oh ! do not this abomin-
able thing that I hate. Gen. xxxix. 9, How can I
do this great wickedness and sin against God!
Observe, (2.) Look upon sin as that which unfits us
for communion with God; therefore, upon this
account, let sin become odious to us. Observe, (3.)
Sin in Scripture is called and compared to a wound,
to a plague, to leprosy, &c. and all to make us fear
and loathe it.
2. Let us cleanse ourselves from this filthiness, by
receiving the Lord Jesus Christ ; for it is he that
is made to us both righteousness and sanctification.
It is our duty to cleanse ourselves, but we cannot do
this without God's grace, and he will not do it with-
out our endeavours. This implies, (1 .) That we truly
repent of the sins which we have committed, and
loathe ourselves for them. Whenever we go to wor-
ship God, we must lie down in our shame, and abhor
ourselves, repenting in dust and ashes. (2.) That by
faith we apply the blood of Christ to our consciences,
and sprinkle them with it, and that we wash in that
fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. We read
that the Ammonites made themselves odious in the
nostrils of David, and so they hardened themselves,
that is, strengthened themselves, against him. Let
us not act so against God, but let us lie low before
the Lord, and make the Lord Jesus Christ our friend
to reconcile us to God.
3. Let us mortify the habits of sin, and parge oat
the old leaven, both in the head and in the heart
Get clear of our bad principles, that we may not
make so light of sin as we have done ; cleanse oar-
selves from corrupt fancy, cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness that is in the imagination. Great pains
must be taken with the heart, to get it clear of all
corrupt inclinations. Wash ye, make ye clean,
indulge no evil thoughts in your hearts.
4. Let us watch against all occasions of sin, that
is, all those things by which you have contracted
pollutions. Have no fellowship with the unfraitfal
works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Keep
at a distance from every thing which has the appear-
ance of evil.
5. Let us resolve for the future to have no more to
do with sin. Refrain from all acts of sin. Let
him that has stole steal no more, Eph. iv. 28. Let
him that has been drunk or unclean, be so no more,
Isa. iv. 4. When the Lord shall have washed away
the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have
purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof,
by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit«of bam-
ing, that is, by a saving knowledge of, and a sin-
cere love to, God and his commandments, sabmit to
the Spirit's influences, or you will never get the
mastery over your sins and corruptions. Therefore
you must put on a holy resolution, and take the
kingdom of heaven by violence, for the violent take
it by force.
6. Our care herein must be universal. 'We must
cleanse ourselves, (1.) from all filthiness of the flesh,
from sloth fulness and the love of ease, from sensuality
and the love of pleasure, from gratifying the desires
of the body with forbidden fruit, or indulging them
too much, to the damage of the soul ; for even lawful
pleasures may turn into sin without due care and
watchfulness over ourselves, such as gluttony,
drunkenness, or seventh-commandment sins. (2.)
We must cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
spirit ; from pride, covetousness, and the love of the
world, from fraud, deceit, and injustice, Job xxxi. 7.
from all sinful anger, malice, hatred, and desire of
revenge ; for these are spiritual filthinesses, from all
which we must be cleansed.
II. We must perfect holiness in the fear of God.
1. We must be holy.
That is taken for granted ; for we cannot perfect
holiness unless we begin it. We must be holy.
What is that? (1.) We must be devoted to God, as
A SERMON ON THE PROMISES.
773
all holy persons and things ander the law were.
We mast be holinejis to the Lord. (2.) We must be
conformed to God's likeness, and to bis will. God's
holiness is his a{[jeement with himself; our holiness
is oar agreeableness to him. We must act in every
thing as becomes our relation to God, Col. i. 10.
That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all
pleasing, &c. and the image of God must be renewed
apon us ; be ye holy, saith the Lord, for I am holy.
;3.) We must be employed in the services and wor-
ship of God ; we must engage our hearts in all our
approaches to him ; we must employ our minds, and
all the powers of our souls, in all the inward acts of
inward worship, and in all outward worship also we
most not only bow the knee, but also the heart, before
the Lord; for heartless worship is vain worship,
God will not accept it, and we ourselves shall be no
gainers by it, so it most be in vain. (4.) We must
beengagedin tfae interests of God's kingdom amongst
men. To be holy, is to be on the Lord's side, and
to espouse his cause, to be his witnesses, to be cou-
rageous and valiant for the truth, to contend earn-
estly for it, for grreat is the truth and it shall prevail ;
God will own and honour those that do own and
bonoor him.
2. We must be sincere in our holiness, or per-
fecting holiness. For sincerity is our gospel perfec-
tion, as a good man said. I know no religion but
sincerity, this is uprightness. Walk before me and
be thou upright. By this is understood, (1.) We
mast be sanctified throughout The whole man must
be sanctified. The understanding must be enlight-
ened, the will bowed and brought into obedience to
the will of God, both to the will of his precepts to
do them, and to the will of his providences to sub-
mit to them ; and thus we stand complete in the
wbole will of God, that we may be sanctified in
body, soul, and spirit, and so be perfecting holiness
in the fear of God. (2.) The whole law of God
mast be regarded, and a respect had to it. Then
shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all
tbj commandments, Ps. cxix. 6. Let my heart be
soond in thy statutes that I be not ashamed, v. 80.
I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be
right ; and I hate every false way, v. 128. O let us
laboar to be sincere to the day of Christ, like good
^d faithful servants waiting for the coming of the
Lord.
3. We must be growing and making progress in
boliness ; though we cannot perfect it in this world,
yet we must be perfecting it, that is, adding a
greater degree to a lesser, pressing forwards towards
perfection. (1.) The habits of grace must grow
more confirmed and rooted, our resolutions against
sin more settled, ^nd our resolution for God and
duty more steady. This is to perfect what is lacking
in our faith, 1 Thess. iii. 10. (2.) The actings of
grace must grow more and more vigorous and lively.
We must be more ready for every good work. We
must have more spiritual success in a lively exercise
to resist sin, and all temptations that would insnare
us. (3.) We must be more and more watchful, and
upon our guard. Let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall. Therefore be not high minded,
but fear, Rom. xi. 20. We must never think our-
selves good enough, and safe enough, but must be
still growing wiser and better. (4.) We must be
actuated and animated therein by the fear of God.
That is, [I.] We must keep up a constant worship
of God in our families, and in our closets ; we must
be frequent in holy adorings and admirings of God.
This will be a good means of perfecting holiness, to
be in the fear of the Lord every day, and all the day
long. [2.] We must maintain a reverent regard to
his majesty and authority, and this will keep us from
sin ; when others make bold with sin, we must stand
in awe of God, as Nehemiah did, ch, v. 15. But
so did not I, because of the fear of God. 3. We
must have a continual dread of his wrath and vin-
dictive justice. A fear of God's wrath and dis-
pleasure will be a means of keeping ourselves in
the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
To conclude. The apostle directs his exhortation
to his dearly beloved, so do I to you, my dearly
beloved.
1. Apply the promises to yourselves, live upon
them, take them to be your heritage for ever. Both
you that are young, and you that are old, treasure
up the promises. 2. Apply the precepts to yourselves,
and live up to them, and be holy in all manner of
conversation. Keep a conscience always void of
ofience both towards God and towards man.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and
to the word of his grace, which is able to baild you
up, and to give you an inheritance among all them
which are sanctified, Acts xx. 32. And may you
be always looking unto Jesus, the Author and
Finisher of faith, till you come to be for ever with
him. Amen.
DISPUTES REVIEWED:
IN
A SERMON,
PREACHED AT THE EVENING LECTURE, AT SALTERS HALL,
ON LORD'S DAY, JULY 23rd, 1710.
Mark ix. 33.
What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by
the way?
Our Lord Jesas is here calling his disciples to an
account about a warm debate they happened to
have among themselves, as they travelled along,
upon a question often started, but not yet deter-
mined. Which of them should be the greatest? They
thought no other but that their Master should shortly
enter upon the possession of a temporal kingdom,
and all the pomp and grandeur of it, and they should
be preferred with him; but they could not agree
who should be prime-minister of state, and have the
first post of honour. It is a sad instance of the re-
mainders of corruption in the hearts even of good
people ; and shows that pride, ambition, and affect-
ation of worldly honour, are sins that do most easily
beset even Christ's own disciples ; which, therefore,
we should all carefully watch and strive against.
Probably our Lord Jesus overheard some words
that passed in this dispute ; for those who are hot
upon an argument are apt to speak louder than be-
comes them ; and when the temper is not kept within
due bounds, commonly the voice is not. But whether
he overheard them or no, he knew very well what
they had been talking of, and every word that had
been said, and, which was more than any man could
know, from what principle it was said, and what
more they would have said ; for as there is not a
word in our tongue, so there is not a thought in our
heart, though newly risen and started there, though
industriously suppressed and stifled there, but he
knows it altogether.* He is that essential, eternal
Word of God, who is a discemer of the thoughts
and intents of the heart, and before whom all things
are naked and open.** Let all the churches take
• Ps. cxxxlz. 4.
b Heb. iv. 12, 13.
notice of this. That our Lord Jesus not only knows
our work, but is he who searches the reins and
hearts.*^
And yet, though Christ knew what his disciples
had been talking of, he asked them what it was,
because he would know it from them, and would
have them to confess their fault and folly in it ; that
from thence he might take occasion to rectify their
mistakes, and to instruct and reason them into a
better temper.
Think not that my design from this text is to
arraign, examine, or inquire into any disputes or
contests that may be among you, of any kind ; for
as (blessed be God) I know of no particular occasion
fbr it, nor have any thing else in my eye, in the
choice of this subject, but what is common to ali ; so
if there were, I should think myself the unfittest
man in the world to be a judge or a divider. And
besides, if I should thus go about to take my Mas-
ter's work out of his hands, I should contradict that
which is my design — ^in putting this question to you.
What was it that you disputed among yourseltfes by the
way ? — and that is, to show you that our blessed Liord
Jesus does and will inquire into these matters, and
bind you over to his judgment.
Four things this text teaches us, who are all in
profession disciples of Christ, as we are baptized
Christians.
I. That we must all expect to be called to an ac>
count by our Lord Jesus.
II. That we must, in a particular manner, be called
to an account about our discourses among ourselves.
III. That, among our discourses, we shall especi-
ally be called to an account about our disputes.
IV. That, of all our disputes, we shall be most
strictly reckoned with for our disputes about pre-
cedency and superiority.
I. We must all expect to be called to an account
e Rev. ii. 19, 23.
DISPUTES REVIEWED.
776
shortly, by oar Lord Jesas, concerning the temper
of oar minds, and the coarse and tenor of oar lives,
now we are in ike way.
1. We are all now in the way, following Christ,
35 his disciples here, in contort. We are viator et
^tracellers^ under the conduct of our great Master,
towards the better country. And here we are upon
trial ; it is the state of our probation ; and according
as oar steps are, while we are in the way, our rest
will be when we are at our journey's end. It con-
cerns us therefore, what we have to do, to do it
while we are yet in the way ;^ and whatever we do
while we are in the way, to do it jrith an eye to our
end.
2. There will be a review of what passes in tfie
mi/f it will all be called over again ; every work
and every word will be brought into judgment, will
be weighed in a just and unerring balance, will be
produced in eyidence for us or against us. There
nill not need any repetition, every thing is now re-
corded in the book of God's omniscience ; and it is
enough that, in that day, the books will be opened,
and all will be judged out of those things which were
found written in the hooks, according to their works,'
It concerns as therefore, whatever we do in the wag,
to do it as those who must give account, and to con-
nder bow it will pass in the account ; how it will
look in the review ; that we may dread doing that
which will make against us then, and may abound
in that which will he fruit abounding to our account,'
and which we shall meet again with comfort, on the
other side death and the grave.
3. The account in the great day must be given ap
to oar Lord Jesus, for we call him Master and Lord^
as these disciples did ; and to him therefore we are
accountable, an scholars and servants, how we spend
our time. He is our Judge, for he is our Law-giver ;>>
and to him the Father has committed all judgment,'
particularly that in which he will judge the world
in righteousness by that man whom ho has ordain-
ed.^ Christ shall have the honour of it, and let all
^ood Christians take the comfort of it, that he who is
an advocate for all believers will be their judge : bat
withal, let it oblige us to the utmost care and cir-
cnmspection in our walking: we must therefore
labour to be accepted of the Lord, and approve our-
selves to him in our integrity, because we shall all
appear before the judgment-seat of Christ,' to give
account of every thing done in the body. God made
the world, by his Son ; and by him, as the fittest
person, he will judge the world.
Now this is a good reason,
(1.) Why we should judge ourselves, and prove
OQr own work, and see that our matters be right and
good against that day. Let us examine ourselves
concerning our spiritual state, that we may make
* Mail. ▼.25. • Eccl. xii. H. f Rev. xx. 12. % Phil. iv. 17.
blaa-zixiji. 22. i John v. 23. k Acts xvii. 31.
sure work for our own souls ; and often call our-
selves to an account concerning the way we are in,
and the steps we take in that way, that we may re-
new our repentance for whatever we find to have
been amiss, and make our peace with God in Christ
And if we would thus judge ourselves, we should not
be judged *" of the Lord. When we come to our jour-
ney's end, it will be asked, how we carried ourselves
in the wag. Let us tlierefore carry ourselves accord-
it>8>'y> ^^^ ponder tlie path of our feet.
(2.) It is a good reason why we should not judge
one another, or be severe in our censures one of
another : we thereby invade Christ's throne, for it is
his prerogative to call his disciples to an account ;
and though he designed them to be one another's
helpers, he never intended they should be one an-
other's judges. We must all stand before the jtidg-
ment-seat of Christ, and therefore must not judge
one another. We must be judged ourselves ; and
may expect to be judged with severity, if we be
severe in judging our brethren, for the measure wc
mete will be measured to us.° Our brethren like-
wise must be judged by the Lord Jesus, and, there-
fore, if we pretend to judge them, they are coram
non jvdice^before a judge without authority. Who
are we that we should judge another man's servant?
to his own master he stands or falls, ° and to his judg-
ment it is fit we should leave him.
IL Among other things that pass in the wag, we
must expect to be called to account for what we
have talked among ourselves. We are apt to make
a light matter of this ; and when we have talked at
random, what comes uppermost, without regard to
God or man, we think to turn it off with an excuse
that it was but talk, and words are but mnd: but we
wretchedly mistake, and put a cheat upon ourselves,
if that be true which our Saviour has told us, and
undoubtedly true it is, that not only for every pro-
fane and wicked word, for every false and spiteful
word, butybr every idle word that men speak, they
must give account in the day of judgment ; nay, and
so shall their doom be, for by thy words thou shalt
be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be con-
demned.p' Christ takes notice of what we say, now;
and we should think we hear him say to us when
we are in conversation, as he did to the two disci-
ples going to Emmaus, What manner of communica-
tions are these t/iat ye have one to another, as ye walk
and are sad,^ or, as ye sit and are merry ? Are they
such as become Christians? Are you not saying that
which must be unsaid again by repentance, or you
will be undone? And as Christ takes notice of it
now, so he will call it over again in the day of ac-
count.
What we talk among ourselves with the usual
freedom of conversation we do not expect to bear
1 2 Cor. V. 9, la
o Rom. xiv. 4.
m I Cor. xi. 31.
P Matt. xii. 36, 37.
n Matt. vii. 1, 2.
q Luke xxiv. 17.
776
DISPUTES REVIEWED.
of again; it is inter not — between ourselves, and
therefore we think we may allow oarselves a li-
berty. What is said under the seal of conversa-
tion, we think almost as safe in point of honour,
as what is said under the seal of confession ; none
but a tale-bearer, that great mischief-maker, will
reveal such secrets ;' but though it be talked among
ourselves, it cannot escape either the cognizance
or the judgment of our Lord Jesus.
1. If we talk any thing which is good among our-
selves, and which is to the use of edifying ;' which
manifests grace in the speaker, and ministers grace
to the hearers ; Christ takes notice of that, and we
shall hear of it again to our comfort, in that day
when those who thus confess Christ before men'
shall be owned by him before his Father, and
the holy angels. When they who feared the Lord
spake often one to another, for their mutual encou-
ragement to hold fast their integrity in a time of ge-
neral apostasy. The Lord hearkened and heard it, as
one greatly well pleased with it, and a book of remem-
brance was written before him, in which were entered
all those pious conferences of them that feared the
Lord, and thought upon his name ;" and the day will
come when this book, among the rest, shall be opened.
There is not a good word coming from a good
heart, and directed to a good end, but it is heard in
secret, and shall be rewarded openly, though, per-
haps, there are those now who ridicule and banter
such language. What is spoken for the edification
of others, will turn to a good account to ourselves :
and it will add to our joy in heaven, to have been
any way instrumental to help others thither. Nay,
if it should not reach their heart<i for whom it is de-
signed, yet the comfort of it will return into our own
bosoms ; and what was well intended for the honour of
Christ, shall not be overlooked in the day of account.
This should engage and encourage us to keep up
religious discourse, that it will be remembered to
our advantage in the accounts shortly, though we
may forget it ; as the righteous could- not say that
ever they saw Christ hungry, and fed him, or thirsty,
and gave him drink ;'' yet Christ will not forget it,
but will place it to account, as an acceptable service
done to him.
2. If we talk any thing that is ill among our-
selves ; if any corrupt communication proceeds out
of our mouths, dictated by the corruption of our
minds, and which has a tendency to corrupt the
minds and manners of others ; Christ observes that
too, is displeased with it, — and we shall hear of it
again, either by the checks of our own consciences,
in order to our repentance, or in the day of the reve-
lation of the righteous judgment of God, when, ac-
cording to Enoch's prophecy, the Lord shall come* to
reckon with sinners, not only for all their ungodly
r Prov. xi. 13. ■ Eph iv. 29. t Matt. x. 32. n Mai. ill. 16.
* Matt. XXV. 37. w Jude 15. > Pi. 1. 20. j Exod. xiii. 28.
deeds, but for all their hard speeches, spoken against
him. It will be asked sooner or later. What was it
that you said such a time, proudly, vainly, filthily,
that foolish talking and jesting which is not becom-
ing ? What was it that you said in such and such
company by way of reproach to your neigbboar,
when you sat deliberately, sat magisterially, and
spoke against your brother, and slandered those.*
whose good names yon ought to have protected ? or,
which aggravates it, by way of reflection on your
superiors ; reviling the gods, and speaking evil of
the rulers of your people,^ little thinking that a bird
of the air may carry the voice ? * Let this consider-
ation oblige us all to take heed to our ways, that
we offend not with our tongue, and to keep our mouth
as it were vrith a bridle,* that we may say nothing
but what we can bear to be told of again. And we
have need to beg of God, that by his grace he would
set a watch before the door of our lips,^ a double
watch upon the door of our hearts, out of the abun-
dance of which the mouth speaks, that nothing may
proceed from them to his dishonour.
III. As our other discourses among ourselves by the
way, so especially our disputes, will all be called
over again, and we shall be called to an account
about them. What was it thai ye disputed amonp
yourselves ? What was the subject of the dispute ?
and how was it managed? Disputing supposes
some variance and strife, and a mutual contradic-
tion and opposition arising from it. Disputing by
the way is falling out by the way, a thing directly
contrary to the charge which Joseph, as a tjrpe of
Christ, gave to his brethren, See that ye fall not out
by the way ;' and therefore we may expect to be re-
proved for it.
There are disputes that are of use among the disci-
ples of Christ, and which in the review we may re-
flect upon with comfort Did we dispute — For the
conviction of atheists and deists, and other the ene-
mies of our holy religion ; or for the confirmation of
those who were in danger of being drawn away by
their delusions ? Did we contend earnestly for the
faith once delivered to the saints,*^ and with meek-
ness and fear both instract others that oppose them-
selves,* and give a reason of our own hope that is in
usV Did we, fairly and calmly, discuss lesser mat-
ters in difference between us and our brethren, that
we might find out the truth, and have our mistakes
rectified ; or, if we cannot, hereby, come to be of the
same mind, yet we may see that even those we differ
from have so much colour of reason on their side, as
that they may still differ from us, and yet not forfeit
their reputation either for wisdom or honesty ? I>id
we, with prudence and mildness, debate our cause
with our neighbour himself, and not go forth hastily
to strive ;' did we tell him his fault between us and
« EccL X. ao. ».?>. xxxix. 1. b Pb. cxii. 3. c Gen. xlv. 34.
d Jude 3. • 2 Tim. M.9S. fl Pet. iii. \5. g Prov. xxv. 8. 9.
DISPUTES REVIEWED.
777
bim alone,** before we told it to the world or the
chordi, in order to a friendly accommodation?
Thes< are disputes which will pass well in the ac-
coant when Uiey come to he called over again.
Bat oar disputes are too often such, that when we
come 'x> be asked about them, as the disciples were
IifTe, ire shall, like them, hold our peace, as being
asbamcd to have them spoken of again, and haying
nothing to say in our own vindication : and (as the
town-clerk of Ephesus apprehended) when we are
called in question for the uproar, can show no justi-
fiable caase, whereby we may give an account of it*
Three things may occasion disputes among Chris-
tians, among ministers, neighbours, friends, rela-
tions, which, perhaps, when they come to be reflected
upon, as here, will be found to have a great deal in
them that was culpable : different opinions, separate
interests, and clashing humours.
1. Disputes commonly arise from difference of
9pinion, either in religion and divine things ; (about
which oftentimes the disputes and contests arc most
tiolent;) or in philosophy, politics, or other parts of
learning ; or in the conduct of human life. While
men differ so much in capacity, temper, genius, and
edacation, and different sentiments are received by
tradition from our fathers, it cannot be expected
that men should all agree in the same notions. The
same thing seen with different eyes, and by different
lights, may appear to one true and very good, and to
toother false and very bad, though both employ
their faculties about it with equaJ diligence and
sincerity. This cannot but give rise to disputes, for
ve are naturally forward (and sometimes over-for-
Tard) to clear ourselves, and convince others ; and
have such a conceit of our own judgment, as to
think that every body ought to be of one mind, and
that if they will be ruled by reason, they will be so:
for Tain man would be wise, would be thought to be
so, though he be born as the wild ass's colt.^
Bot these disputes are often such as we may
jutJy be ashamed of, when we come to look back
Qpoo them.
(1.) Upon account of the matter of them. What
vas it that we disputed among ourselves ? What was
it we were so bot and eager about?
Perhaps it was something above us, about the
mtare and attributes, the counsels and decrees, of
Ood ; and the operations of his providence and
pace ; and the person of the Mediator : those secret
things which belong not to us : * things which we
^ not understand, nor could : things which it was
presumption for us to dispute about ; for the angels
vith an awful reverence humbly desire to look into
them,*B as not pretending to be masters of them. And
the p-eat apostle, who had been in the third heavens,
Dot only owned that the words he heard there were
ii Matt, xfiii. 15.
1 Detil. xxix. 29.
I Acts xix. 40.
B 1 Pet i. 19.
k Jobzi. IS.
n 2 Cor. xli. 4.
unspeakable,*^ but was so much at a loss to express
himself concerning the work of redemption, though
it is in some measure revealed, that despairing to
find the bottom, he sits down at the brink, and adores
the depth of that mystery : O the depth of the wisdom
and knowledge of God 1^0 what reason have we with
Job to abhor ourselves, and to repent in dust and
ashes, because, like him, in our disputes with our
friendSjP concerning the reasons and methods of
God's proceedings, we have darkened counsel by
words without knowledge; and have uttered that
which we understood not, things too wonderful
for us.
Perhaps it was something below %u, not worth dis-
puting about, especially, with so much warmth and
violence : it was a trifle, a mere strife of words,<i a
dispute de lana eaprina — about a thing of no value ;
as if the matter were started only for want of some-
thing to wrangle about ; so inconsiderable a thing,
that which way soever it goes, the costs are much
more than the damage. In the reflection, we may
justly blush to think that we should make so much
ado, so great a noise, about nothing.
Perhaps it was something foreign to us, that we
were no way concerned in ; some matter of politics
it may be, which belongs not to those of our rank and
station, but must be left to wiser heads, whose busi-
ness it is to deal in things of that nature. Our Lord
Jesus after his resurrection twice checked his dis-
ciples for a vain curiosity :— once in inquiring con-
cerning one another's affairs; when* Peter asked
concerning John, What shall this man do ? Christ an-
swered him, What is that to thee? Follow thou me ?'
— and another time in inquiring concerning God's
counsels. It is not for you to know the times or the
seasons,*
Perhaps it was something indifferent; like the
controversy among the primitive Christians concern-
ing the observing of days, and making a distinction
of meats,' which the apostle himself does not think
fit to determine, but leaves each side to practise ac-
cording as their judgment was, without imposing
upon either, since they might be of either mind, and
yet be accepted of God ; only he forbids them to fall
out about it, or to despise or judge one another.
(2.) Upon account of our management of them.
When our disputes among ourselves by the way
come to be reviewed, it will be found that the mis-
chief was done not by the things themselves, con-
cerning which we differed, but by our misma]#ge-
ment of the controversy.
Our Master will be displeased with us if it be
found that we have been hot and fierce in our dis-
putes, and have mingled our passions and peevish
resentments with them ; if a point of honour has
governed us more than a point of conscience, and
o Rom. xi. 33. p Job xlii. 3, 6. q 1 Tim. vi. 4.
r John xxi. 22. • Acta i. 7. t Rom. xiv. 2, kc
778
DISPUTES REVIEWED.
we have contended more for victory and repatation,
than for tmth and daty ; if we have contended about
things of small moment for, or against, them, and
have neglected the weightier matters of the law and
gospel ; if we have spent more of oar zeal on matters
in difference than they deserve ; and have lost the
vitals of religion, in our heat abont circamstantials,
and have disputed away oar seriousness and devo>
tion, What then shall we do when God riseth up ? and
when he visiteth, what shail we answer him ?**
If in our disputes for the truth, we lie against the
truth, and speah deceitfully for God, the good inten-
tion will be so far from justifying the lie, that the
lie will condemn the good intention, and convict it
of hypocrisy ; for if the intention were really good,
such a practice would be abhorred. If we have the
itch of disputing, and a spirit of contradiction, that
is certainly one of those foolish hurtful lusts, from
whence come wars and fightings. If we receive our
brethren who are weak to doubtful disputations;* and
love to perplex and puzzle them, and run them
aground with objections against what they and we
believe ; it shows a great contempt both of the truth
and of their souls, and is a jesting with both. If we
judge, and censure, and condemn our brethren who
are not in every thing of our mind, and though we
call ourselves disciples, set up for masters, many
masters;'' if we give reproachful language, and call
foul names, which commonly betrays the weakness
of the caose, and is ingloriously pressed into the ser-
vice to mak^ up the deficiency of argument ; we
shall have a gpreat deal to answer for, when all our
disputes shall be called over again by our Master.
2. Many disputes arise from separate and intei'-
fering interests in this world. Neighbours and rela-
tions quarrel about their rights and properties, their
estates and trades, their honours and powers and
pleasures ; Meum and Tuum — My rent and Thy
bond, are the great subjects of dispute, and engage
people in endless strifes. The first dispute we
read of in the primitive church was about a money-
matter ; the Grecians quarrelled with the Hebrews
because they thought their widows were neglected in
the daily ministration^ Many disputes of this kind
happen, which will be inquired into as well as those
about differences in opinion ; and therefore it con-
cerns us to reflect upon them, that whatever we find
to have been amiss in them may be repented of.
We may, in godly sorrow, quarrel with ourselves,
an^gustly, for our unjust, unbecoming quarrels with
our brethren :
Ask then,— What was it that you disputed about
with such a neighbour, or such a friend, at such a
time 1 Perhaps you disputed that which yon ought
to have yielded withdut dispute, a just debt or a
rightful possession, which you thou^t to have car-
B Job xzu. 14.
Y Rom. xiv. 1.
w James iii. 1.
ried, by dint of opposition, against equity. Perhaps
you disputed about something very trivial, and of
small value, which was not worth controvertiiig, but
which if the right were indeed of your side, you might
have receded from it for peace* sake, without any
detriment to yourselves or families. Perhaps the dis*
pute might have been prevented, or when it was be*
gan, might quickly and easily have been accommo-
dated, with a little wisdom and love ; as the strife
between Abraham and Lot was soon ended, and the
matter compromised by Abraham's prudent conde-
scension.y A little yielding would pacify great
offences, and put an effectual stop to that threaten-
ing mischief which sometimes a little fire kindles.
Review your law-suits. And it may be you will
find, that how stiff soever you were in the heat of the
prosecution of them, your cooler thoughts tell jou
they were not managed as become Christians ; you
did not try to end things, as you ought to have done,
in an amicable way. Perhaps they were be|^u
rashly, and in passion ; and then no wonder if tbcy
be carried on unfairly, and that which was a hasty,
sudden passion in the beginning of the quarrel, is in
danger of ripening into a rooted malice before the
end of it, and they who at first pretended that they
designed only to right themselves, at length, as their
resentments have grown more and more keen, are not
ashamed to own that they are resolved to avenge
themselves.
These disputes, as they are most common, so they
are most scandalous, among relations, and those
who are under particular obligations to love one
another. And whatever keeps brethren from dwell-
ing together in unity, is very provoking to Christ,
who has made brotherly love the livery of his family :
and it is very hardly removed : for a brother offended
is harder to be won than a strong city, and their con^
tentions are as the door of a castle >** witness Jacob
and Esau.
3. Some disputes, and hot ones too, arise merely
from passion and clashing humours,wheTe really there
is nothing of judgment or interest in the case.
Some indulge themselves in a crossness of temper,
that makes them continually uneasy to their rela-
tions, the nearest, the dearest, and to all about
them. They love to thwart and disagree, and to dis-
pute every thing, though ever so plain, or ever so
trifling. Many make their lives, and the relations
wherein they stand, uncomfortable by this ; especi-
ally when both sides are of such a spirit : one will
have their humour, their saying, and the other will
have theirs, and so they are ever and anon disput-
ing which shall be greatest, and instead of aiming
to please, are contriving to displease and contradict
one another.
But do such consider, that they must give an ac-
s AcU vi. 1.
J Gen. xfi). 8. 9.
» Pror. xviii. 19.
DISPUTES REVIEWED.
779
couDt to Christ for all these disputes among them-
itket by ike way ; that they will all be called over
again? How ill does it become the disciples and
followers of the hamble Jesos to carry things with a
bigh hand, imperiously and with rigour, toward
tbeir inferior relations ; not suffering them to speak
for themselves, nor willing to hear reason from them.
How ill does it become the worshippers of the God
of love to be envious, and spiteful, and ill-natured,
and quarrelsome with all they have any dealings
with ! The father of the prodigal, when his elder
son was out of humour, angry, and would not come
in, did not dispute with him, chide him, and threaten
bim, though he very well deserved it ; but he went
out and entreated him,* spoke to him smoothly, and
50 brought him into good temper again : which is
written for our learning^ that we may go and do
likewise, but writhal for our $hame that we have not
done so. By the account which the Scripture gives
of some peevish passionate disputes, it appears that
notice is taken of the height to which the ferment of
the spirit rises at such a time. When the men of
Epbraim quarrelled with Gideon upon a point of
honour, it is left upon record, that they did chide
rithkim ikarply^h though by his exemplary mildness,
as well as by his eminent services, lie deserved better
at tbeir hands. When, in a like case, Judah and
Israel fell out, it is observed, that the wards of the
Mm of Judah werejlercer than the words of the men
f*f Israeli And if it be so indeed, that an account
u kept of the sharpness of our chiding, and the
fierceness of oar words, we are concerned by true
repentance to judge ourselves for it, that we may
not be judged of the Lord.
And whatever we find has been amiss in our dis-
putes of any kind, let it be amended for the future.
(1.) As far as we are able to make a judgment,
let us see to it that we have truth and right on our
side, in all our disputes, and not be confident any
farther than we see j ust cause to be so. We must not
only never contend for that which we know to be false
and wrong, but also never for that which is doubtful,
or which we do not know to be true and right. Let
OS not wrong our consciences in any of our contests ;
Qor say we believe that to be true, and therefore
dispute for it, which really we do not believe to be
$0; nor demand that as our own, which we know or
baTe reason to suspect we have no g^od title to ; nor
deny that to another which we cannot but think is
justly bis.
And if, in the progress of any dispute or contro-
Tersy, it be made to appear to us, at length, that we
were mistaken, and in the wrong, we must be ready
to acknowledge it, thankful to those who have dis-
covered it to us, and not ashamed to let fall the con-
troversy. And we have a false notion of honour, if
» Luke XV. 38.
b Judg. viii. 9. e 3 Sam. xix. 43.
we think this will be any reai disparagement to us ;
for certainly St Paul showed more true courage,
and merited more true praise, when he said, / can
do nothing against the truth,^ than Goliah did, when
he defied all the armies of Israel.
(2.) In matters of doubtful disputation : while we
are contending for that which we take to be right,
let us at the same time think it possible that we may
be in the wrong. When we contend for the great
principles of religion, in which all good Christians
are agreed, we need not fear our being in a mistake ;
they are of undoubted certainty. We know and are
sure that Jesus is the Christ, But there are many
things that are not so clearly revealed, because not
of so much moment, in which the truth indeed lies
but on one side, and yet wise and good men are not
agreed on which side it lies. Here, though we both
argue and act according to the light that God has
given us, yet we must not be over-confident of our
own judgment, as if wisdom must die vri th us.
Others have understanding as well as we, and are
not inferior to us ;* nay, perhaps, they every way
excel us, and, therefore, who can tell but they may
be in the right ? However, they argue and act ac-
cording to the light they have, which we ought to
pay a deference to, so as not to condemn all those
for weak men, or bad men, who are not in every
thing of our mind, and will not say as we say. Job
in dispute is not unwilling to put the case. Be it
thai I kave erred J
In matters of fact on which right depends, it is
possible we may be mistaken ; Humanum est errare
— to err is kuman. Words may be misunderstood
and misapprehended ; and the wisest, and most
cautious and observing, may be guilty of an over-
sight, and may forget something that would very
much alter the case ; and, therefore, it will be no
credit to our wisdom and goodness to be too positive,
too peremptory, as long as there is a possibility of
our being deceived. Never let our assertions go be-
yond our assurances, nor let us give that as certain
and great, which was given us doubtful and little ;
but be very wary in what we maintain, not only for
our reputation's sake, lest our neighbour search us
and put us to shame, but for conscience' sake, toward
God, who hates a proud look, and a lying tongue ;v
two very bad things, that commonly go together, to
support one another.
(3.) Let us keep the full possession and govern-
ment of our own spirits, in all our disputes. Let us
carefully suppress all inward tumults, whatever pro-
vocation may be (pven us; and let our minds be
calm and sedate, whatever argument we are engaged
in. Let no contradiction put us into a heat or dis-
order ; for when passion is up, we are not so capable
as we ought to be, either to hear reason or to speak
d 2 Cor. xili. & e Job xil. a. # Job xix. 4. % Prov. vi. 17.
780
DISPUTES REVIEWED.
it, nor is it likely we shoald either convince or be
convinced of truth and right. Meekness and mild-
ness of spirit do as mach befriend a cause, as they
are the beauty and ornament of its advocates.
If we contend for that which is wrong, the jnore
passionate we are, the greater is the sin of the con-
tention, and the more there is of the image of the
devil upon it, who is not only the father of lies
and falsehoods, but a red dragon, and a roaring lion.
But if we have truth and right on our side, that
needs no intemperate heats and passions for the sup-
port of it, nor can have any real service done it by
them. The cause of heaven can never be pleaded
with any credit or success by a tongue set on fire of
hell. The wrath of man tDorks not the righteousness
of God.^ Parties may be served by fury and vio-
lence, but the common interests of pure Christianity
will certainly be prejudiced by it. Christ was there-
fore fit to teach us, and we are invited to come and
learn of him, it is not said, because in him were
hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, though
that is certainly true, but because he is meek and lowly
in heart,^ and can have compassion on the ignorant ;
and herein all who undertake to instruct others
must study to imitate him. And this is the likeliest
way to gain our point, if indeed we be in the right ;
for the words of the wise are heard in quiet, more than
the cry of him that rules among fools}"
(4.) Let us never lose the charity we ought to have
for our brethren in our disputes of any kind, nor vio-
late the sacred laws of it. Our Lord Jesus foresaw,
and foretold, that the preaching of his gospel would
occasion much division, that it would set men at
variance,^ and be the subject of much dispute ; and
therefore he thought it very requisite to bind the
command of mutual love so much the more strongly
upon his followers, because there was danger lest it
should be lost in these disputes : he makes it one
of the fundamental laws of his kingdom, the new
commandment. That we love one another; and the
livery of his family, by which all men might know
who are his disciples. See how these Christians love
one another.
Let us, therefore, in all our disputes keep ourselves
under the commanding power and influence of holy
love ; for that victory is dearly purchased, that is
obtained at the expense of Christian charity. Let us
honour all men, and not trample upon any, nor set
those among the dogs of our flock, whom, for ought
we know, Christ has set with the lambs of his. Let
us never bring a railing accusation against any :*"
Michael the archangel, though he was sure in the
dispute he had right on hi^ side, and the glory of
God was nearly concerned, and it was with the devil
that he contended, yet he would not thus attack his
adversary. The scourge of the tongue has driven
h James i. 90.
1 Luke zii. 51.
1 Matt. xi. 29.
m Jude 9.
k Bccl. iz. 17.
n I Cor. i. 90.
more out of the temple than ever it drove into it.
Let us always put the best construction on men's
words and actions that they will bear, not digging
up mischief, as evil men do, nor rejoicing in iniquity,
but rejoicing in the truth, hoping the best as far as
we can. Let us not aggravate matters in variance,
nor by strained inuendos and misrepresentations
make either side worse than it is ; for that is a me-
thod which may harden one side, but can never
convince the other, nor can be used with any other
design but to make the contending parties hate one
another ; and whose kingdom that serves the inter-
ests of it, it is easy to say, — not Christ's, I am sure.
Let us not judge of men's spiritual and eternal state,
and send men to hell presently as reprobates, be-
cause they are not in every thing of our mind, or
cannot fall in with our measures. They who do &o
usurp a divine prerogative, take the keys of hell and
death out of the hands of Christ, and show them-
selves to be as destitute of the fear of God, as they
are of love to their neighbour.
(5.) Let us often think of the account we must
shortly give to our great Master of all our disputes
with our fellow-servants by the way. Let us con-
sider how our disputes will look in that day, and
what our own reflections will be then upon them.
When the apostle asks. Where is the disputer of this
world ?^ '' Perhaps (says the excellent Archbishop
Tillotson) he intends to insinuate, that the wrangling
work of disputation hath place only in this world,
and upon this earth, where only there is a dust to be
raised ; but will have no place in the other, where
all things will be clear, and past dispute : and a
good man would be loth to be taken out of the world
reeking hot from a sharp contention with a perverse
adversary, and not a little out of countenance to find
himself in this temper translated into the calm and
peaceable regions of the blessed, where nothing but
perfect charity and good-will reign for ever.''
Let our moderation therefore be known unto allmen^^
moderation in all disputes, because our Lord is
at hand ; nor let us grudge one against another, be-
cause the Judge standeth before the door:^ and we
may tremble to think what our doom will be, if we
be found smiting our feUow-servants *^ and how we
shall answer it, if it be proved upon us, who have
had so much forgiven us by our Master, that, for a
small matter, we have taken them by the throat J But
seeing we look for a day of account, in which there
will be a review of disputes, let us give diligence,
that we may be found of Christ in peace." When
Job and his friends had maintained a long dispute,
in which many hasty peevish words were exchanged,
God at length interposed as moderator, and gave
judgment upon the debate, That they were all to be
blamed, and had taken a great deal of pains (as most
o Phil. iv. & p James v. 9.
r Matt. ZTiii. 28.
q Matt KMT. 49.
• 3 Pet iii. 14.
DISPUTES REVIEWED.
781
dispntants do) to make work for repentance ; and,
therefore, the cM>Dtending parties must ask pardon
of God and one another, mast forgave and forget,
and live in Ioto for the future. And this is the hest
end of controTersies ; happy were it if they were all
brought to this issue now : to this issue all the con-
troTersies that are among good men will he brought
at last, when they shall meet in the world of everlast^
ingr light and love.
IV. Of all disputes, Christ will he sure to reckon
with his disciples for their disputes about precedency
and superiority. That was the dispute here. Who
thoM he greateii ; and Christ does not determine
the matter, as it might justly be expected he should
ha?e done, if he had intended that Peter, or any other
of them, should have a primacy and supremacy
above the rest ; no, he is displeased with them for
startiDg such a question, and disputing about it, be-
cause it was an indication that they all aimed at
being great in the world, and were ambitions of it ;
and wheneTer preferments were to be had, they
would quarrel among themselves, which should get
tbe best; notwithstanding the meanness of their
first education, when they were bred fishermen,
which might have done nmething to curb aspiring
thoughts ; and the goodness of their late education,
when they were trained up to be apostles, which
might hare done tnMch more.
Now there are live reasons why this disposition of
theirs was very displeasing to our Lord Jesus.
1. Because it came from a mistaken notion of hit
kiuydom^ which they had learned at the feet of their
scribes, and had not yet unlearned, though they had
tat so long at Cb rist's feet, so hard is it to conquer
the power of prej udice. The Jews, misunderstand-
ing many of the prophecies of the Old Testament,
which spake of the Messiah and his kingdom ; ex-
pected him to appear in external pomp and splen-
dour, and to exercise a temporal jurisdiction, to
break the Roman yoke from off their necks, and give
tbem dominion over the neighbouring nations. The
disciples had imbibed this notion from infancy, and
imagined (as should seem by many instances) that
oar Lord Jesus, though he appeared meanly at first,
would soon by it thus reign ; and that this was the
kingdom of heaven, which they were to preach as at
band : and this they had an eye to, when they strove
who should be the greatest
Now this was a great mistake, and the constant
teoor and tendency of Christ's life and doctrine
might have con winced them that it was so, that Christ's
kingdom was not to he of this world,' but was in-
tended to be all spiritual ; the laws and powers of
it, the rewards and punishments of it, all spiritual ;
:tbe weapons of our warfare are not carnal ;) that the
Messiah was to rale by his Spirit in the spirits of
t John xviii. 36.
« Uatt zfi. S4.
T Luke uli. S7.
men. The design of it was to refine men from the
dross and dregs of worldliness and sensuality ; and
to raise them up to a holy, heavenly, spiritual, divine
life ; and to teach them to look down upon all earthly
things with a gracious and generous contempt. Such
as this was the constitution and complexion of Christ's
kingdom, and therefore, it could not but be displeas-
ing to him, for them to dote on earthly greatness.
2. Because it was directly contrary to the two
great lessons of his school, and laws of his kingdom,
humility, and love. It is against the law of humility
to covet to be g^eat in this world, and against the
law of love to strive who shall be greatest. Had not
Christ taught them both these lessons, both by pre-
cept and by example ? Had he not made it the first
condition of discipleship, that whosoever would
come after him must deny themselves ? Does not the
gn^eat law of love oblige us in honour to prefer one
another,' and to give place to our brethren ? What
unapt scholars then were they, who had not learned
such plain and needful lessons as these ! How well
is it for us that we have a kind Master, who does not
expel out of his school dull scholars, but gives them
his Spirit to open their understandings, and bring
things to their remembrance.
When we are eager in our pursuits of the world,
and seek and aim at g^at things in it ; when we are
quarrelsome with our brethren, and carried out into
indecencies by our contests and passions; let us
think how unbecoming Christians this is, how con-
trary we walk to the laws of that holy religion we
make profession of. And can we glory in the ho-
nour of it? Can we, wltH any confidence, plead the
promises of it, or please ourselves with the privi-
leges of it, or feed ourselves with the hopes of it,
when we have so little regard to the precepts of
it? Will those be willing to lose their lives for
their religion, who cannot deny themselves the gra-
tification of a foolish lust or passion for it ?
3. Because it was utterly repugnant to the exam-
ple which Jesus Christ himself had set them, and
the copy he had given them to write after. The word
of command which he gave them when he called
them to be his disciples, was. Follow me ; do as you
see me do. But when they were disputing who
should be greatest, and each setting up a title to
worldly pomp and power, they were far from re-
sembling him, who was among them as one that
served,* and came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister.^ The same mind should have been in
them, that was in him ; who was so great an exam-
ple of humility and love, condescension and affec-
tion ; who emptied himself, and made himself of no
reputation ;' who, not only in the general scheme of
his undertaking, but in the particular passages of
his life, gave such instances of self-denial, as justly
w Matt XX. 98.
PhiLii. 7.
782
DISPUTES REVIEWED.
are the wonder of angels ; who, to teach them this
lesson, and oblige them to learn it with this yery
argument, not long after this washed their feet, and
bid them do as be had done/ Coald the followers
of such a Master contend for precedency, and not
blush at the reflection upon their own folly and un-
wortfainess?
Let us shame ourselves out of our pride, and
passion, and affectation of worldly honour, and in-
ordinate pursuit of worldly wealth, with this consi-
deration : Shall I set my heart upon that which my
Master was dead to, and denied himself in, and foi
my sake too ? Am I not a Christian, a follower of
Christ? I must then either change my name, or
recover a better temper. Ought I not to walk in the
same spirit, in the same steps ?
4. Because it would render them very unfit for the
services which he had appointed them to. It was
very absurd for them to strive who should be greatest,
who should live most at ease, and most in state, who
should have the most power and the largest com-
mand, when they were all to labour and suffer re-
proach," to live in meanness and poverty, to be
loaded with disgrace and ignominy, and counted as the
off-scGuring of all things ; nay, to be hilled all the day
long, and devoted to death, as sheep to the slaughter,
and ruled with rigour. Such dispositions and ex-
pectations as these would be but a bad preparative
for sufferings. They who would approve themselves
good soldiers of Jesus Christ must endure hardness,*
and not affect greatness.
And, therefore, though this infirmity, and the mis-
take it was grounded upon, seems by many instances
after this, to have continued as long as they had
Christ's bodily presence with them ; yet, before they
launched out into the deep of their service, they were
perfectly cured of it, by the pouring out of the Spirit
upon tliem ; after which, we have them no more
dreaming of a temporal kingdom, nor striving who
should be greatest; for those whom God designs to
employ in any service for him, he will either find
them fit or make them so : and as the day, so shall the
strength, so shall the spirit, be. And if we would be
ready for all the will of God, and stand complete in
it, so as not to be driven from our work by the diffi-
culties we may meet in it, we must be dead to world •
ly wealth and grandeur, and live above them, at
those who look beyond them.
5. Because it was a corrupt temper that would be,
more than any thing, the bane of the church in after-
times ; would be the reproach of its ministry, an ob-
struction to its enlargement, the disturbance of its
peace, and the original of all the breaches that would
be made upon its order and unity. Our Saviour
foresaw this, and, therefore, took all occasions to
check and repress it in his disciples, for a warning to
J John xijl 4—15.
■ 1 Tim. iv. 10.
• 2 Tim. ii. 3.
all others ; that all who are called by his name, and
profess relation to him, may be jealous over them-
selves with a godly jealousy, and may look diligently,
lest this root of bitterness spring up and trouble both
themselves and others, and thereby many be defiled^
and disturbed.
When we see how early in the primitive times the
mystery of iniquity began to work in strifes amon^
ministers, who should be the greatest; in Diotrephes,
who loved to have the pre-eminence ;^ and in the
man of sin, who, by deg^es, under the influence of
this principle, came to usurp an universal aathority »
and to exalt himself above all that is called God, or
that is worshipped ;<> let us acknowledge with what
good reason Christ so often cautioned his disciples
against this, and lament the mischief that is done by
it to the church. It must needs be that such offences
would come ; and we are told of them before, that
we may not be stumbled at them ; but woe to those
by whom they do come. The pre valency of such a
temper as this, as far as it appears, is very threaten-
ing. But when the Spirit shall be poured ont upon
us from on high, there shall be no more such dis-
putes as these ; and then the wilderness shall becoine
a fruitful field.*
Upon the whole matter, therefore, let our strife be.
Who shall be best, not who shall be greatest.
1. Let us never strive who shall be greatest in this
world; who shall have the best preferment; who
shall be master of the best estate, or make the best
figure ; but acquiesce in the lot Providence carves
out to us, not aiming at great things, or striving for
them.
Consider what worldly greatness is :
(1.) What a despicable thing it is to those who
have their eye upon another world* All who by faith
have seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ, who are acquainted with the grandeur of the
upper and better world, and are conversant with that
world, have laid up their treasure in it, and set their
hearts upon it, and hope shortly to share in the en-
joyments of it ; what a poor thing are the pomps and
pleasures of this world to them ! how easily can they
write Vanity upon them ! for they know better things.
What are purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and
faring sumptuously every day, to one who is clothed
with the robes of righteousness and garments of sal-
vation, and has a continual feast upon the promises
of tlie new covenant ? What are titles of honour, or
splendid attendance, to one who is called a friend
of God, and about whom the holy angels encanap !
What are the fading, withering glories of time, in
comparison vrith the far mofe exceeding and eternal
weight of glory that is to be revealed ? Let as be
ashamed then to strive, or seem to strive, for that
which, if we act as becomes our character, we
I b Heb. xii.'l5. c 3 John 9. a 2 Theas. ii. 4. • In. znii. is.
DISPUTES REVIEWED.
783
cannot bat look upon with a holy contempt and in-
difference.
(2.) What a dangerous thing this worldly great-
ness is to those who have tiot their eyes upon another
fcorld; how apt it is to keep their hearts at a dis-
tance from God, and from the consideration and
pursait of a future blessedness ; and to fix them to
this world, and make them willing to take up with
a portion in it : and, especially, what a strong temp-
tation it is to break through all the sacred fences of
the divine law to compass it. The devil would not
have tempted Christ to worship him, with a promise
of all the king^domfl of the world, and the glory of
them, but that he had caught many a one with that
hait. As they who will be rich, so they who will be
i;reat, and cannot think themselves happy unless
they be, fall into temptation, and a snare, and into
many foolish and hurtful lusts -/ let us, therefore,
never court oar own trouble ; nor coyet to enter into
temptation, as they do, who, when they are as great
as God saw fit to make them, are still aiming to be
greater, and striving to be greatest.
2. Let all our strife be who shall be hest^ not ois-
patjng who has been best, that is a vain-glorious
strife, but humbly contending who shall be so ; who
shall be mosthamble, and stoop lowest, for the good
of others ; and who shall labour most for the com-
mon welfare. This is a gracious strife ; a strife that
will pass well in oar account, when all our disputes
will be reviewed. If we will covet, let us covet
earnestly the best gift5,f covet to be rich in faith, and
f 1 Tim. rf . 9.
b s Cor. V. 9.
ff 1 Cor. zii. 31.
I Heb. X. 34.
rich in good works. If we will be ambitions, let it
be the top of our ambition to do good, and therein to
be accepted of the Lord.** If we will aim to excel,
let it be in that which is virtuous and praise-worthy,
and in a holy zeal for the honour of God, and
the advancement of the true interests of Christ's
kingdom. Herein let us strive to excel others, and
to do more good than they do ; not that we may
have the praise of it, but that God may have the
gloiy of it, and that we may provoke others to love
and to good works;* not that we may be many
masters, but that we may make ourselves servants
of all. Let us go before — in zeal, and yet be will-
ing to come behind — in humility and self-denial ;
do better than others, and yet, in love and lowliness
of mind, esteem others better than ourselves.*^
But especially let us strive to excel ourselves, and
to do more good than we have done. Let it be a
constant dispute with our own souls. Why we do not
lay out ourselves more for God. And when we re-
member the kindness of our youth, and the love of
our espousals, instead of leaving that first love,
and cooling in it, let our advanced years contend
earnestly to excel our early ones, that our last days
may be our best days, and our last works our best
works. Forgetting the things that are behind, let us
still press forward toward perfection ; press forward
toward the marh,for the prize of the high calling,^ that
at length we may have not only an entrance, but an
abundant entrance, ministered to us into the everlast-
ing kingdom of our Lord and Savioitr Jesus Christ,"*
kPhiLU.3.
1 Phil, ill 13, 14.
mSPeti. 11
FAITH IN CHRIST INFERRED FROM FAITH IN GOD
IN
A SERMON
PREACHED AT THE TUESDAY LECTURE, AT SALTERS HALL,
MAY 29th, 1711.
John xW. 1. latter part.
Ye believe in God, believe also in me.
A DOMINION over yoar faith* is what yoar ministers
are far from pretending to; bat the direction of
yonr faith is what they are intrusted with, that thus
they may be helpers of your joy, for by faith you
stand. What is Pan! himself, or what is Apollos,^
those great men ? not masters in whom ye believed,
but ministers only, by whom ye believed ; not oracles,
but stewards of the oracles of God. Now how can
we better direct your faith, nay, how dare we other-
wise direct it, than as we have received direction
from the Lord Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher
of our faith, the Foundation and Fountain of it?
And in the text we have his law concerning it, the
rule of faith he prescribes to us. What he said here
to those who were his immediate followers, he says
to all, Ye believe in God, believe also in me.
This is here recommended in particular to the
disciples of Christ ; as a sovereign antidote against
trouble of mind, proper to fortify the soul against
the invasions of grief and fear, when they are most
violent and threatening, and all other supports and
succours fail. Christ was now leaving those who
had left all to follow him, and he told them that
whither he went they could not follow him yet;*
which seemed to bear hard upon them, that they
who had followed him in his sorrows, might not fal-
low him to his joys ; nay, must be left behind as
sheep in the midst of wolves. Because of this, sor-
row JUled their heart. And though in Christ's de-
parture from them there seems to be enough to justify
their sorrow, yet there really is enough to pacify ;
and therefore, with good reason, as well as with
good authority, he commands down those boisterous
winds and waves, saying. Peace, be still. Let the
sinners in Zion be afraid, and let fearfulness sar-
prise the hypocrites, but let not your hearts be
troubled. Though trouble surround you on every
side, yet be wise, be watchful, and keep trooble
from your hearts : and that you may do so, believe
in God, aud in his providence ; believe also in me,
and in my grace. And you will be kept from faint-
ing by believing ;^ but if you will not believe, surely
you shall not be established.*
But that which is here intended as a cordial in
time of trouble, will not be so, unless it be our
practice, for it is certainly our duty at all times,
the duty of all those who hear the joy£ul sound of
the everlasting gospel, not only to bei^ve in God,
but to believe also in Jesus Christ. And therefore
I shall take it more generally, not only as an anti-
dote against trouble of mind, but a caveat against
practical deism.
1. Our Lord Jesus does here take it for granted
concerning his disciples, that they did believe in
God, and that in the belief of him they paid him the
adorations due to his name, and the submissions due
to his government, and that that faith was so firmly
fixed in them, that it would not be shocked by any
event of Providence, though ever so grieving, ever
so frowning. You believe in God, that is, you re-
ceive and embrace natural religion, you admit the
light of it, you submit to the laws of it. You believe
the perfections of God, that he is infinitely and eter-
nally wise and holy, just and good ; you believe his
relations to his creatures, as their Protector and
Benefactor, their Owner and Ruler; hb relations to
his own people, as their Father and Felicity ; you
believe his providence, that it extends itself to all
the creatures, and all their actions, to you, and all
your afi*airs, with a certain cognizance, and a faith-
ful steady conduct Nay, you go further, you not
only believe in the Lord your God, but you believe
• 3 Cor. i. 24.
b 1 Cor. ill. 4.
c John xiii. 36.
4 Pb. zxvii. 16.
« In. vii. 9.
FAITH IN QHRIST INFERRED FROM FAITH IN GOD.
786
bis prophets / you receive the Scriptares of the Old
Testament, and subscribe to them : andyoa do well.
Observe here,
(1.) That our Lord Jesus knows who believe in
God, and who do not ; for all hearts are open to his
view, and he knows what is in man. When with
the moath confession is made unto salvation,' it is
to give honour to him, not to inform him what the
heart believes ; for he knows it before we tell him,
and better than we can tell him. That which is the
prerogative of the Eternal Mind, is one of the flowers
of the Redeemer's crown : I am he which searcheth
the reiju and hearts,^ He knows the sincerity of
some, whom men suspect and reproach « and the in-
sincerity of otliers, whom men confide in and ap-
plaud. We read of some who professed to believe
in JesQS Christ, when they saw the miracles which
he did ; but Je^us did not camnnt himself to tluim^ did
not Mieve them, so the word is, because he hnew all
men, and needed not that any should testify of man.*
He knew that his disciples here did believe in God,
and witnessed for them that they did so. And be-
caase he does thus infallibly know every man's true
character, he is therefore fit to be the Judge of all at
the great day, and to pass the definitive sentence
apoD every man's everlasting state ; for we are sure
that his judgment is according to truth, and cannot
mistake.
(2.) That our Lord Jesus is highly well pleased
with those who believe in God, and will take notice
of it to their comfort and honour. He came into the
world to reveal and reconcile God to us, and to re-
dace and restore us to God, not to draw ua from him,
but to draw us to him ; and nothing is more accept-
able to him than our believing in God, nor shall any
thing be more comfortable to us. Christ fortifies us
with this faith against all assaults : Let not your
i^rts he troubUdj for ye believe in God. And Uiose
who believe in God need not be cast down and dis-
quieted ; as those have reason to be who are strangers
to him, who have no dependence on him, or com-
munion with him. They who believe in God, ac-
cording to his word, have reason to rejoice in him
with joy unspeakable ; for their confidence in him
shall not mahe them ashamed. They hnowwhom. they
^t believed.
2. He calls upon them who believe in God, to be-
lieve in him too. But did not the disciples believe
also in Christ ? No doubt they did ; else they had
not so easily left all to follow him, and continued
with him in his temptations. When St. Peter, in
the name of the rest, gave this for the reason why
they would never quit their Master, We believe and
«re sure that thou art the Christ f the Son of the living
(iod} they all subscribed to it as the confession of
their faith, except Judas, whom Christ at that very
f 2 Cbron. ». 90.
> John ii. S3-SS.
% Rom. X. 10.
k John vl. ep.
3 B
h Rev. li. S3.
1 1 John V. 13.
time particularly excepted. And yet, Christ saith
to them, Believe also in me: use the faith you have,
set it on work, exert it, employ it, that by it you may
keep your minds composed and quiet at this time.
Believe in me, that is, live by faith in me. Even
those who believe, as they have need to be prayed
for, that God would help their unbelief, and increase
their faith, so they have need to be preached to, and
called upon to exercise their faith : These things are
written to you who believe in Christ, that you may be-
lieve in him ;^ may be confirmed in your faith, and
have the comfort of it.
Believing in God is a very great duty, afad there
are few but what profess at least to do it They who
have little else to say for themselves, will say this,
*' We trust in God :'* and O that there were such a
heart in all them that say so ! But from those who
believe in God, there are two things further required :
One is a dictate of the light and law of nature ;
we have it given in charge by St Paul to Titus,
This is a faithful saying, (and these things I will that
thou affirm constantly f^ let it be frequently incul-
cated, and earnestly pressed upon all Christians,)
That they who have believed in God must be careful to
maintain good worhs : for faith without works is dead ;»
it doth no good to others,'* and therefore will do mi no
good. — ^The other is a dictate of revealed religion,
and we have it here in the text, '' Ye believe in God,
believe also in me."
DocT. It may justly be expected, and re-
quired, from those who believe in God, that
if they are within the sound of the gospel,
they should believe also in Jesus Christ
I speak to those who are favoured with the gospel,
who see that joyful light, who hear that joy fjul sound,
and who are therefore concerned in this doctrine.
As for those who enjoy it not, we cannot say it is
required of them to believe in Christ ; for how shall
they believe in him, of whom they have not heard ?^ Yet
we cannot say, it is impossible for any of them,
though they live up ever so closely to the light they
have, to be saved by Christ they never heard of. It
is out of our Utu to judge concerning them, for it is
not tfi our Bibles ; but let us judge this rather, that
we who enjoy the gospel shall find it more intolerable
for us in the day of judgment, than they will, if we
obey not the gospel. As for them, it becomes us
rather to leave them to God's uncovenanted mercy,
than to his unpacified justice. For our own part,
whatever favour they may find who are destitute of
the light of Christianity, I see not how they can ex-
pect it, who rebel against that light, and reject the
counsel of God against themselves.*! The case is
plain, — It is good to believe in God ; but that is not
enough, we must believe also in Jesus Christ. It is
not sufficient to our acceptance with God that we
> Tit. til. 8.
P Rom. z. 14.
B James ii 17.
e Jamea4i. 14.
q Luke vii. 30.
786
FAITH IN CHRIST INFERRED
embrace natural religion, though it is indispensably
necessary that we do so ; but we must go further, we
must admit the light, and submit to the laws, of the
Christian religion likewise, which is consonant to,
and perfective of, natural religion, and helps us out
where that leaves us at a loss. And this is that
which I am here to-day to press upon you, with all
seriousness, that you sink not into a practical deism,
as many do into a practical atheism ; but, in every
thing wherein you have to do with God, you may
have a believing regard to Jesus Christ You believe
in God, believe also in Jesus Christ.
I shall here endeavour to explain,
I. The objects of this faith, and what that is which
those who believe in God are to believe also con-
cerning Christ
II. The acts of this faith, and what that regard
is which we must give to God, and must give also
to Jesus Christ.
III. The connexion between these two, and how
necessarily it follows, that those who truly believe
in God will readily believe in Jesus Christ, when he
is made known to them. And then make application.
1. Let us inquire, what man is to believe concern-
ing God ; and compare with that, what he is also to
believe concerning Jesus Christ ; and see, what re-
lation they have to each other.
1 . Do we believe in God, as the Father Ahnighty ?
Wc must believe in Christ, as his only-beffotten Son ;
for Father and Son correlates. By the prescribed
form of baptism, that great foundation on which the
doctrine of the Trinity is built, we are directed to
devote ourselves to the Father and Son; which
plainly speaks a divine relation, not to us, (for
though God may be said to be a Father to us, and a
Holy Spirit to us, yet he can in no sense be said to
be a Son to us,) but a relation to one another ; and
therefore they must be distinct persons ; and so, as
that the Son is the express image of the Father's
Person. We cannot believe in God as the Father,'
but we must believe in him who is. the Son of the
Fatlier,^ who is the only-begotten of the Father,*^
and therefore of the same nature with him. If any
deny the Son, though they say they believe in God,
as the Creator of heaven and earth, yet really they
have not the Father, they have not the knowledge of
him, nor an interest in him, as the Father ; for they
only who by faith continue in the Son, so continue
in the Father.'' Shall we think that God has the
title of the Father ascribed to him so frequently, so
solemnly, only as he is the Fountain of being to the
creatures which are infinitely below him ? (So the
heathen called him the Father, so he is Father of the
rtdn, and hath begotten the drops of the dew,"*) No,
he himself plainly intimated why he is called the
Father, when he said to the Redeemer, Thou art my
Son, this day have I begotten thee ;* which mast be
understood in a far higher sense than that of crea-
tion ; for when the apostle would prove that Christ
has obtained a more excellent name than the highest
rank of created beings, he thus argues : To which of
the angels said he at any time^ Thou art my San, this
day have I begotten thee ?' They were sons of God
who shouted for joy, when thefoundation* of the earth
were fastened ; he was the Image of the invisible God,
that existed before all things.^ It is not, as some
would have it, that he viksfiesh, and was made God.
only as Moses was made a god to Pharaoh ; for the
Scripture says quite the contrary, that Bcoc lyy — '
he WAS God,* and oofti tytvtro — was made flesh.*
This mystery we firmly believe the truth of, but aw-
fully adore the depth of.
2. Do we believe in God as the Eternal Mind ?
We must also believe in Christ as tA« Eternal Word
and Wisdom. God is an Infinite Spirit, and as such
is to be adored by every one of us ; and he has told
us that the Redeemer we. are to believe io is the
Logos, that in the beginning, was with God; and
was God,*' in the constitution of all things. And (to
show that he is the Omega as well as the Alpfta)
we find that in the consununation of all things, when
he obtains a final victory over all the enemies of his
kingdom, he appears and acts under the same title ;
his name is called, the Word of God,^ It signifies
both Ratio and Oratio, a word conceived, and a word
uttered. Christ is both ; as the thought is one with
the mind that thinks it, and yet may be considered
as distinct from it, so Christ was and is one with the
Father, and yet distinct from the Father.
In all the divine counsels, Christ is the Eternal
Wisdom, that when God prepared the heavens, and
/at J the foundations of the earth, and made man who
is the highest part of the dust of the world, was hy him
as one brought up with him :^ he is the Wonderful Cokii-
sellor, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom
and knowledge. Between the Father and the Son
there is a perfect mutual consciousness, and parti-
cularly in the affair of man's redemption. No man
knows the Son but the Father, neither knows the Father,
save the Son.* The counsel of peace is between them
both.f
In all divine revelations, Christ is the Word of the
Father; that Word of God which is quick and
powerful, and is a discemer of the thoughts and in-
tents of the heart' He only having lain in his
bosom from eternity, none but he could declare him ;*"
and though it is in these last days, that he has in a
more especial manner spoken to us by his Son, yet
the Spirit, in the Old-Testament prophets, was the
Spirit of Christ^ And as he was the Maker and
r Heb. i. 3.
• 2 John 3.
t John i. 14.
• John i. 14.
b Johnl. 1.
c Rev. xi«. 13.
u 1 John ii. 23, 24.
V Job xxxviii. as.
w Ps. ii. 7.
d Prov. viH. 28, 30.
« Bfatt. zi. 27.
fZech. vi. 12.
KHeb i.5.
7 Col. i. 15, Ifl.
t John i. 1.
gHeb.iv. IZ
h John i. 1&
il Pet. I II.
FROM FAITH IN GOD.
787
Mediator, so he was the Messenger of the Covenant,
the Amen, the Jaithfui and true Witness,
3. Do we believe that God nuide the world, and
gctems it ? We most believe also that he made it,
and goTerns it, by his Son, who is not only the
KudoM of God, and his eternal word, bat the power
of God, and his almighty right hand. The Father
Korketh hitherto ^ we believe he does, that he is the
Foontain of all being, and the Spring of all life,
power, motion y and perfection : bat the Son has told
08 withal, that he worketh, and that what things soever
the Father doihj these also doth the Son lihewise.
Nothing appears more evident, by the light of
natore, than that God made the world, and all
things therein, that by his power, and for his plea-
sare and praise, they are and were created : nor does
anj thing appear more evident, by the light of the
Gospel, than that €rod ntade the worlds by his Son,i
that he created all things bg Jesus Christ,'^ that all
things were treated hg him and for him, and that he
it htfore all things, and hg him all things consist,*^ nay,
tUt without him was not ang thing made that was
madeJ" So that if we receive the gospel, we mast
discern even in the things diat are seen, not only
the eternal power and godhead of the Father, bat
the aniversal agency and inflaence of the Son, and
particalarly with reference to the children of men,
with whom his delights were; for in him, in a
special manner, was that life which is the Hght of
Jwii.p Therefore be is called the ^Jtpxfi — The prin*
tvpU (so it might better be read than The beginning)
of the creation of God.^ And hence arises his
sovereignty over all the creatures, and. his property
in them. He is the first-bom of everg creature f
ftat is, as the apostle himself explains it, he is the
luirtf all things f and has not only by porchase,
hot hg inheritance, obtained the more excellent name.
We are satisfied that God governs the world, and
an abondant satisfaction it is to ns that he does so,
that his kingdom rnleA over all ; but we mast also
he assured, and it will add greatly to oar satisfaction,
that the administration of the kingdom of providence
nput into the bands of oar Lord Jesas, and is anited
to the mediatorial kingdom ; that he has an incon-
testable title to all, All things are delivered to him bg
ihe Father,* and for this reason, because he loves
Aim ,-* that he has an nncontrollable dominion over
all. Things are not only given into his hand, bat
put under his feet ;* not only great pdwer, but all
power, is given onto him, both in heaven and in
earth ; and he is not only head of the church, but
^enf over all things to the church. Ail the angels in
heaven are his active servants, all the devils in hell
are bis conquered captives: the kingdoms of the
e^rth are his, and he is the Governor among the
k John v. 17, 19.
• John I. 3w
' Col. i. I5w
1 Heb. i. 9. m Eph. ili. 9. n Col. i. 16, 17.
9 John i. 4. q Rev. iii. 14.
I Heb. i. 3, 4. t Matt xi. 37.
3 B 2
nations ;^ Bg him hings reign, for to him the Father
has committed not only the future judgment, but all
judgment.^
4. Do we believe that God is our owner by right
of creation? We most believe also, that Christ is
our owner by right of redemption ; and yet we have
not two masters to serve ; Christ and the Father are
one, as to us. Nor do these properties stand in
competition with each other: no, Christ owns his
property to be derived. Thine they were, and thou
gavest them me,^ and yet withal it is acquired.
As to God we owe our being, because he made us,
and not we oorselves, therefore we are not our own
but his; so to Christ we owe our well being, our
recovery from that deplorable state, unto which by
sin we were fallen, and our restoration to the favour
of God, and an eternal happiness in him. Thus,
besides the original right he has to ns as our Maker,
he has an additional right by purchase ; a right to
command ns, a right to dispose of as; we are his
servants, for he has loosed our bonds ; not only bom
in his house, but bought — ^not with his money indeed,
but with that which is infinitely more valuable, his
own most precious blood : and therefore we are de-
livered out of the' hands of oar enemies, that we
might be devoted to him, to serve him without fear."
We are not our own but his, for we are bought with a
price ; more was paid for us a gpreat deal than we
were worth ; and it was paid to him into whose hand
our all was forfeited, so Uiat no dispute can be made
of his interest in us, and the authority he has to de-
mand our best affections and services. As one is our
Father, even God, so one is our Master, even Christ: *
he is our Lord, and we are bound to worship
him.
6. Bo we believe that God is our Judge, to whom
we must evcTy one of us give an account of ourselves ?
We must believe also, that Christ is our Advocate
with him, and that he is the propitiation for our sins.
We are all conscious to ourselves that we are sin-
ners, that we are guilty before God, have incurred
his wrath, and laid ourselves open to his curse ; and
from him our judgment must proceed, a judgment
against which there will lie no exception, and from
which there will lie no appeal ; a judgment which
in its inquiries ydiW look back as faras our beginning,
for God shall bring everg worh into judgment, with
everg secret thing :^ and which in its decisions 'wiW
look forward as far as our everlasting state, which
must by it be irreversibly determined.
Now, whenever we think of giving an account to
Grod, we must have an eye to the Lord Jesus, as the
one only Mediator between us and God, that blessed
Dags-man who has laid his hand upon us both ; who is
our peace, who arbitrates matters in variance be-
a John iii. 35.
X John ▼. 23.
• llatt xzili. 8, 9.
r Matt, xxviii. is.
T John zvii. s.
bPs. xlv. 11.
w Ps. \x1i. 98.
1 Luke i. 74,75.
c Eccl. xii. 4.
790
FAITH IN CHRIST INFERRED
in him ; let us also depend upon Jesus Christ, and
put a confidence in him. We believe in God, that
is, wo trust in him, we rely upon his wisdom to di-
rect us, his power to support and strengthen us, his
goodness to pity us, and his all-sufficiency to give
all that to tw, and work all that in «#, and for us,
which the necessity of our case calls for. And we
therefore refer ourselves to him, and encourage our-
selves in him ; now let us thus believe also in Jesus
Christ, and make him our hope. As we confide in
the providence of God for all things that relate to
the natural life ; and cheerfully submit ourselves to
the conduct of that providence, hoping by it to be
carried comfortably through this world ; so we con-
fide in the grace of the Lord Jesus for all things re-
lating to the spiritual life, and cheerfully submit
ourselves to the operations of that grace, hoping by
it to be carried safely to a better world ; desiring not
more to secure our present and future welfare, than
to have the grace of the Lord Jetui Christ with our
Spirits* Our dependence must be upon Christ both
for righteousness and strength,p the two great things
we stand in need of; from a full conviction of our
own guilt and weakness, and of his ability and will-
ingness to save us from sin and wrath, we must ven-
ture all our spiritual concerns with him. In every
thing wherein we have to do with God, we must make
mention of his righteousness, and make use of his
grace, — and, of both, as all-sufficient for us ; must
depend upon him to bring us safe through this wil-
derness to the heavenly Canaan ; and having done
this, as those who know whom we have trusted, we
must bo willing to venture all our temporal concerns
for him, to leave, and lose, and lay out all for his
sake, being well assured, that though we may be
losers for him, we shall not, we cannot, be losers by
him in the end.
III. I come in the next place to show the neces-
sary connexion that there is between these two great
duties, of believing in God, and believing also in
Jesus Christ; and how the latter will follow of
course, if the former be sincere, in all those to whom
the glad tidings of the gospel-salvation are brought
They must needs embrace the Christian religion, who
cordially entertain natural religion ; and they who
do not believe in Christ, whatever they pretend, do
not indeed believe in God : for,
1. If we believe in God, we must believe in him
who is One with him, the Brightness of his glory,
and the express Image of his Person,*^ Christ in his
gospel has expressly told us, / and my Father are
one J And when he says. My Father is greater than
I,* the comparison is not between the person of the
Father and of the Son, but between the Son's state
of exaltation with the Father and his present
stite of humiliation ; as plainly appears, because
p Gal. VI. 18. p Isa. xlv. 24. q Heb. i. 3. r John x. 30.
• John xiv. 28. t John xvii. 21. n John xlv. 9.
it comes in as a reason why the disciples should
not mourn, but rejoice rather, in his departure from
them, because he had told them he was to go to the
Father, where his state would be not only more glo-
rious to himself, but of greater capacity to serre
them, than his present state was. When he was
entering upon his sufferings, he comforted himself
with this, thBiheandhis Father were one, Thou^ Father
art in me and I in thee,^ and therefore he has reason
to expect, that the world will believe, that they who
believe in God, will believe also in him. So much
are the Father and the Son one, that Christ says. He
that has seen me, has seen the Father »^ We come to
the knowledge of God, by the knowledge of Jesus
Christ, for the glory of God shines in the face of
Jesus Christ ; and, therefore, he who believes in the
Father, as far as the Son is revealed to him to be
one with the Father, will believe also in him : and
by that faith we come to be one with the Father and
the Son, and one in them.^ And thus, by keeping
Christ's commandments we abide in his love, even as
he kept his Father's commandments, and abode in
his love.^ Such a close and inseparable union the
gospel all along shows us between the Father and
the Son, as that we cannot divide them in our belief.
The heathen worshipped their idols as rivals with
God, we worship Christ as one with God : Believe
me, says Christ, that / am in the Father, and the
Father in me. So let us believe in him.
2. If we believe m God, we must believe also in
him who is sent by him, has a commission from him^
and to whom he has given testimony. We do not
believe in God, unless we believe what he has said
concerning his Son, and rest upon it ; what he said
by the prophets of the Old Testament, who all bare
witness to him. And those predictions of theirs were
all exactly and completely acoomplished, which had
reference to his estate of humiliation, and the afflic-
tions of it ; not one iota or tittle of them fell to the
ground. Christ himself observed this when he said.
It is finished: which ratifies those predictions that
had reference to his estate of exaltation, the honours
of it, and the graces that flow to us from it ; for the
Spirit of Christy in them, testified beforehand both of
the sufferings of Christ, and of the glory that should
follow.* We must also believe, what he said by a
voice from heaven concerning him, once and again.
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,
hear ye him ;' and must concur with him by a sin-
cere declaration. This is my beloved Saviour, in wham
I am well pleased, and whom I will hear.^ Thus we
set to our seal that he is true,* and subscribe to the
record we have received in the everlasting gospel,
which we are willing to venture our souls and our
salvation upon, that God has given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son ; which if we receive not
▼ John xvii. 21.
7 Mat iii. 17.
w John xv. 10.
I Bfatt. xvli. 5.
X iPeti. II.
• John iii. 30.
FROM FAITH IN GOD.
791
«-e make God' a liar,^ we not only declare that we
do not believe in him ourselves, but that he is not fit
to be believed by any one else. Justly therefore
has Christ said. He that dewpiseth me, despisetk him
tkei tent me ; as an affront done to an ambassador,
is justly construed an affront to him who gave him
his character and credentials.
We must also, if we believe in God, g:ive credit
1o the many confirmations which we have of his
testimony to his Son; the many miracles which
were wrought to pTO?e his divine mission, miracles
of mercy, healing mercy, which served likewise to
explain and illustrate it ; especially the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, by which he was
declared to be the Son of God with power,<^ and in
wbich God gave him glory, that our faith and hope
might be in God ;' that believing in him whom he
raised from the dead, our faith and hope in him
might be both evidenced and encouraged. The
pouring out of the Spirit likewise, both in his gUts
and in his graces, is a further attestation gii|pn to
Christ's mission, for in them God bare him witness ;*
nay, the Holy Ghost whom God gave to them who
belieyed in Christ, and obeyed him,' is said to be
bis witness ; so that if we believe in the Spirit of
God, we most believe also in Christ, and, therefore,
the imputingof Christ's miracles, which were wrought
by the Spirit of God, to Beelzebub the prince of
the devils, is jastly reckoned an unpardonable blai-
pAemy againtt the Holy Ghott,
3. If we believe in God, we must j^ire honour to him,
by htlietin^ also in Je$u$ Christ; for thereby he
reckons himself honoured. If we confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, it is to the glory of God the Father J
It is certain, there is nothing in which the glory of
God, and of all his attributes, shines more bright,
or more strong, than in the great work of our re-
demption wrought out by Jesus Christ ; and there-
fore, when the First-begotten was brought into the
world, the angels who were charged to worship him
sang, Glory to God in the highest, because, in Christ,
there was on earth peace, and good-will towards
nen^ so that, nnless by faith in Christ wc receive
that peace and good-will, and the record given con-
cerning it, we do not as we ought give unto God
the glory dne to him, from that greatest of all the
works of wonder by which he has made himself
known. Do we believe in God ? We ought then to
riTc him the glory of all that infinite wisdom which
contrived oar redemption in such a way, that divine
justice might be satisfied, and yet sinners saved ;
this is the wisdom of God in a mystery, hidden wisdom,
f^nifold wisdom, ordained hrfore the world for our
plory.i We onght also to give him the glory of that
Undness and love of God which designed this
salvation, those tender mereies, whereby the Day-
^ 1 John ▼. 10, 1 1, e Rom. i. 4. d i Pet i. 31. e Heb. 11. 4.
f AcU V. 32. r PhiL 11. II. h Luke li. 14.
spring from on high visited us ; love without pre-
cedent, love without parallel, whereby God so loved
the world, as to give his only-begotten Son for us.
But how can we say we believe in him, which is
giving glory to him, if we rob him of so great a part
of his glory, by not believing in Jesus Christ, in
whom his glory shines in a special manner ?
4. If we believe God speaking by Moses and the pro-
phets, we must believe also in Jesus Christ ; for to
him bare all the prophets witness, and in all the
ceremonies of the Mosaic institution, he was typi- .
fied : if we believe the Old Testament, we must also
believe the New ; for such an exact correspondence
and agreement is there between them, as between
two tallies. The same grace which the Old Testa-
ment represents in shadows, promises, and predic-
tions, the New Testament produces in the substance
and accomplishment, 90 that they mutually confirm
and illustrate one another. This our Lord Jesus
insisted upon, as one of the strongest proofs of his
divine mission, that the Scriptures of the Old Testa-
ment testified of him ; and therefore he tells the
Jews, who set up Moses in opposition to him, that
Moses, instead of condemning him, condemned
them for not believing in him ; for, says he, Had ye
believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote
of me.^ In the volume of the booh^ <v ct^oXi^c — in the
head of it, (so the word is,) in the very beginning of
the book of Moses, it was written of Christ, that as
the seed of the woman, he should break the serpent's
head. It is plain, therefore, ye believe not his writings,
because ye believe not my words. Christ blamed the
two disciples, and afterwards all the rest, for their
slowness to believe what was written concerning him
in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the
Psalms, all which was to a tittle fulfilled in him."
They who believed in the God of Israel, and received
the oracles which by him were committed to them,
knew very well that there was a salvation to be
revealed in the last times ; that a Messiah should
come, to be a prophet like Moses, a priest like Aaron,
a king like David, — and, like the sacrifices, to make
reconciliation for iniquity ; and that he should be
cot off*, not for himself, but for the sins of his people."
And do we not see all this abundantly made good
in the Lord Jesus? Has he not done, has he not
sufiered, all that which it was foretold he should do
and sufler ? If, therefore, we believe that a Messiah
was to come, we must believe that this was he that
should come, and we are not to look for any other.
The apostles therefore all along appealed to the
Scriptures of the Old Testament, saying no other
things than those which Moses and the prophets said
should come,** and putting the unbelief of the
Jews to their ignorance of the voice of the prophets,
though they were read among them every sabbath
1 1 Cor. ii. 7. k John v. 45—47.
Luke xxlv. 25, S7, 44. a D&n. ix. 28.
1 Heb. T. 7.
e Acts xxvl. 23.
790
FAITH IN CHRIST INFERRED
in him ; let us also depend upon Jesus Christ, and
put a conGdence in him. We believe in 6€>d, that
is, wo trust in him, we rely upon his wisdom to di-
rect us, his power to support and strengthen us, his
goodness to pity us, and his all-sufiiciency to give
all that to usj and work all that in us, and for us,
which the necessity of our case calls for. And we
therefore refer ourselves to him, and encourage our-
selves in him ; now let us thus believe also in Jesus
Christ, and make him our hope. As we confide in
the providence of God for all things that relate to
the natural life ; and cheerfully submit ourselves to
the conduct of that providence, hoping by it to be
carried comfortably through this world ; so we con-
fide in the gp^ce of the Lord Jesus for all things re-
lating to the spiritual life, and cheerfully submit
ourselves to the operations of that grace, hoping by
it to be carried safely to a better world ; desiring not
more to secure our present and future welfare, than
to have the grace of the Lord Jesut Christ with our
Spirit/* Our dependence must be upon Christ both
for righteousness and strength ,p the two great things
we stand in need of; from a full conviction of our
own guilt and weakness, and of his ability and will-
ingness to save us from sin and wrath, we must ven-
ture all our spiritual concerns with him. In every
thing wherein we have to do with God, we must make
mention of his righteousness, and make use of his
grace, — and, of both, as all-sufficient for us ; must
depend upon him to bring us safe through this wil-
derness to the heavenly Canaan ; and having done
this, as those who know whom we have trusted, we
must be willing to venture all our temporal concerns
for him, to leave, and lose, and lay out all for his
sake, being well assured, that though we may be
losers for him, we shall not, we cannot, be losers by
him in the end.
III. I come in the next place to show the neces-
sary connexion that there is between these two great
duties, of believing in God, and believing also in
Jesus Christ; and how the latter will follow of
course, if the former be sincere, in all those to whom
the glad tidings of the gospel-salvation are brought.
They must needs embrace the Christian religion, who
cordially entertain natural religion ; and they who
do not believe in Christ, whatever they pretend, do
not indeed believe in God : for,
1. If we believe in God, we must believe in him
who is One with him, the Brightness of his glory,
and the express Image of his Person.^ Christ in his
gospel has expressly told us, / and my Father are
one J And when he says. My Father is greater than
/,• the comparison is not between the person of the
Father and of the Son, but between the Son's state
of exaltation with the Father and his present
^tite of humiliation ; as plainly appears, because
p Oal. VI. 18. p Isa. xlv. 24. q Heb. i. 3. r John x. 30.
• John xiv. 28. t John xvii. 21. n John xiv. 9.
it comes in as a reason why the disciples should
not mourn, but rejoice rather, in his departure from
them, because he had told them he was to go to the
Father, where his state would be not only more glo-
rious to himself, but of greater capacity to serve
them, than his present state was. When he was
entering npon his sufferings, he comforted himself
with this, thstheandhis Father were one, 7%ou, Father
art in me and I in thee,^ and therefore he has reason
to expect, that the world will believe, that they who
believe in God, will believe also in him. So much
are the Father and the Son one, that Christ says. He
that has seen me, has seen the Father,^ We come to
the knowledge of God, by the knowledge of Jesus
Christ, for the glory of God shines in the face of
Jesus Christ ; and, therefore, he who believes in the
Father, as far as the Son is revealed to him to be
one with the Father, will believe also in him : and
by that faith we come to be one with the Father and
the Son, and one tit them.* And thus, by keeping
Christ's commandments we abide in his love, even as
he kept his Father's commandments, and abode in
his love,^ Such a close and inseparable union the
gospel all along shows us between the Father and
the Son, as that we cannot divide them in our belief.
The heathen worshipped their idols as rivals with
God, we worship Christ as one with God : Believe
me, says Christ, that I am in the Father, and the
Father in me. So let us believe in him.
2. If we believe in God, we must believe also in
him who is sent by him, has a commission from him,
and to whom he has given testimony. We do not
believe in God, unless we believe what he has said
concerning his Son, and rest upon it ; what he said
by the prophets of the Old Testament, who all bare
witness to him. And those predictions of theirs were
all exactly and completely acoomplished, which had
reference to his estate of humiliation, and the afllic-
tions of it ; not one iota or tittle of them fell to the
ground. Christ himself observed this when he said.
It is finished: which ratifies those predictions that
had reference to his estate of exaltation, the honours
of it, and the graces that flow to us from it ; for the
Spirit of Christ, in them, testified beforehand both of
the sufferings of Christ, and of the glory that should
follow,^ We must also believe, what he said by a
voice fVom heaven concerning him, once and again.
This is my beloved Son, tn whom I am well pleased,
hear ye him ;' and must concur vrith him by a sin-
cere declaration. This is my beloved Saviour, tn whom
I am well pleased, and whom I will hear,* Thus we
set to our seal that he is true,* and subscribe to the
record we have received in the everlasting gospel,
which we are willing to venture our souls and our
salvation upon, that God has given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son ; which if we receive not
▼ John xvii. 21.
y Mat iii. 17.
w John XV. 10.
s Blatt xvii. 5.
X iPeti. 11.
• John iii. 33.
FROM FAITH IN GOD.
791
we make God* a liar,^ we not only declare that we
do not believe in him ourselves, but that he is not fit
to be believed by any one else. Justly therefore
has Christ said. He that despiteth me, despiseth kim
that sent me ; as an affront done to an ambassador,
is justly construed an affront to him who j^ave him
his character and credentials.
We mnst also, if we believe in God, give credit
fo the many confirmations which we have of his
testimony to his Son; the many miracles which
were wrought to prove his divine mission, miracles
of mercy, healing mercy, which served likewise to
explain and illustrate it ; especially the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, by which he was
declared to be the Son of God with power ,« and in
which God gave him glory, that our faith and hope
might be in God f that believing in him whom he
raised from the dead, our faith and hope in him
mi^ht be both evidenced and encouraged. The
pouring out of the Spirit likewise, both in his glhs
and in his graces, is a further attestation gi^n to
Christ's mission, for in them God bare him witness ;*
nay, the Holy Ghost whom God gave to them who
believed in Christ, and obeyed him,' is said to be
his witness ; so that if we believe in the Spirit of
God, we mast believe also in Christ, and, therefore,
the impntingof Christ's miracles, which were wrought
by the Spirit of God, to Beelzebub the prince of
the devils, is jostly reckoned an unpardonable bias-
phemif against the Holy Ghott,
3. If we believe in God, we must^tre honour to him,
by hdievin^ also in Jeiui Christ; for thereby be
reckons himself honoured. If we confess that Jesus
Christ is Lordj it is to the glory of God the Father J
It is certain, there is nothing in which the glory of
God, and of all his attributes, shines more bright,
or more strong, than in the great work of our re-
demption wrought out by Jesus Christ ; and there-
fore, when the First-begotten was brought into the
world, the angels who were charged to worship him
saog, Glory to God in the highest^ because, in Christ,
there was on earth peace, and good-will towards
mm ^ so that, an less by faith in Christ we receive
that peace and good-will, and the record given con-
cerning it, we do not as we ought give unto God
the glory doe to him, from that greatest of all the
works of wonder by which he has made himself
known. Do we believe in God ? We ought then to
fdve him the glory of all that infinite wisdom which
contrived our redemption in such a way, that divine
jastice might be satisfied, and yet sinners saved ;
this is the wisdom of God in a mystery , hidden wisdom,
f»enifold wisdoms, ordained before the world for our
9lonf,i We ought also to give him the glory of that
kindness and love of God which designed this
salvation, those tender mercies, whereby the Day-
^ I John V. 10, 11. e Rom. i. 4. d I Pet. i. 21. • Heb. ii. 4.
f AcU V. 33. f PhlL ii. II. h Luke il. 14. '
spring from on high visited us ; love without pre-
cedent, love without parallel, whereby God so loved
the world, as to give his only-begotten Son for us.
But how can we say we believe in him, which is
giving glory to him, if we rob him of so great a part
of his glory, by not believing in Jesus Christ, in
whom his glory shines in a special manner ?
4. If we believe God speaking by Moses and the pro-
phets, we must believe also in Jesus Christ ; for to
him bare all the prophets witness, and in all the
ceremonies of the Mosaic institution, he was typi- .
fied : if we believe the Old Testament, we must also
believe the New ; for such an exact correspondence
and agreement is there between them, as between
two tallies. The same grace which the Old Testa-
ment represents in shadows, promises, and predic-
tions, the New Testament produces in the substance
and accomplishment, 90 that they mutually confirm
and illustrate one another. This our Lord Jesus
insisted upon, as one of the strongest proofs of his
divine mission, that the Scriptures of the Old Testa-
ment testified of him ; and therefore he tells the
Jews, who set up Moses in opposition to him, that
Moses, instead of condemning him, condemned
them for not believing in him ; for, says he. Had ye
believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote
of me}' In the volume of the booh^ iv ce^oXi^i — in the
head of it, (so the word is,) in the very beginning of
the book of Moses, it was written of Christ, that as
the seed of the woman, he should break the serpent's
head. It is plain, therefore, ye believe not his writings ^
because ye believe not my words* Christ blamed the
two disciples, and afterwards all the rest, for their
slowness to believe what was written concerning him
in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the
Psalms, all which was to a tittle fulfilled in him."
They who believed in the God of Israel, and received
the oracles which by him were committed to them»
knew very well that there was a salvation to be
revealed in the last times ; that a Messiah should
come, to be a prophet like Moses, a priest like Aaron,
a king like David, — and, like the sacrifices, to mako
reconciliation for iniquity ; and that he should be
cot off*, not for himself, but for tlie sins of his people.**
And do we not see all this abundantly made good
in the Lord Jesus? Has he not done, has he not
suffered, all that which it was foretold he should do
and suffer ? If, therefore, we believe that a Messiah
was to come, we must believe that this was he that
should come, and we are not to look for any other.
The apostles therefore all along appealed to the
Scriptures of the Old Testament, saying no other
things than those which Moses and the prophets said
should come,^ and putting the unbelief of the
Jews to their ignorance of the voice of the prophets,
though they were read among them every sabbath
i I Cor. ii. 7. k Jolin v. 45—47.
m Luke xxiv. 25, S7, 44. B Dan. ix. 98.
1 Heb. X. 7.
e Acts xxvi. 2S.
792
FAITH IN CHRIST INFERRED
day.p So that, in short, if we believe that there is
such a thing as a divine revelation, that God has
made a discovery of himself, and of his will and grace,
to the children of men, we must believe the gospel,
and the testimony it bears, God has sent his son into
the worldy not to condemn the world, but that the world
through him might have righteousness and life.
5. If we rightly apprehend how matters stand be-
tween God and man since the fall, as those must do
who believe in God, who believe his holiness and
justice, and his relations to man, we shall readily
receive the notice which the gospel g^ves us of a
Mediator between God and man ; not only because
we shall soon perceive how desirable it is that there
should be such a Mediator, (and we are easily
brought to believe what is for our honour and ad-
vantage, quod volumus facile credimus—^ohat we wish
we easily believe,) but because we shall perceive,
likewise, how probable it is that a God of infinite
grace and mercy should appoint such a Mediator,
and make him known to us. It is a great confirm-
ation of the truth of the Christian religion, that it
not only agrees with, and is a ratification of, the
principles and laws of natural religion, and is an
improvement and advancement of them, but that it
supplies the deficiencies of it ; it takes us up and
helps us out, where that fails us and leaves us at a
loss. So that if we make just reflections upon our-
selves, and our own case as it appears to us by the
light of nature, there cannot but be a disposition in^
us to receive and embrace the gospel, and to enter-
tain it not only as a faithful saying, but as well
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners. If we rightly believe
in God, and withal rightly understand ourselves,
we cannot but perceive our case to be such as calls
for the interposition of a Mediator between us and
God ; and we are undone if there be no such a one ;
and we will therefore cheerfully receive him.
(I.) We cannot but perceive that man has in a
great measure lost the knowledge of God, and there-
fore should gladly believe in him who has revealed
him to us. It is certainly the greatest satisfaction
and best entertainment to our intellectual powers,
to know God the author and felicity of our being^.
The understanding of man cannot rest short of this
knowledge ; but we find that by the entrance of sin,
our understandings are darkened,<i and the children
of men are generally alienated from the divine light
and life, through the ignorance that is in them, be-
cause of the blindness of their heart : The world by
wisdom knew not God* and the things of God vne fool-
ishness to the natural man,* Are we sensible of this
as our misery, that we cannot by any researches of
our own come to such a knowledge of God, as is
necessary to our communion with him ? If we are
p Acts ziii. 37.
• 1 Cor. ii. 94.
q Eph. i. 18.
t 1 John L 18.
r 1 Cor. 1. 31.
u John i. 0.
SO, we shall readily embrace Christ as a prophet*
who having lain in the bosom of the Father from
eternity, has declared him * to the children of men,
and has brought into this dark world the light of
the knowledge of this glory, with such convincing
evidences of a divine truth, and such endearing in-
stances of a divine grace and love in this light, as
are abundantly sufiicient both to captivate the un-
derstanding and engage the affections. This is the
true light, which is sufficient to lighten every man that
Cometh into this world,"* and to direct him throogb it
to a better world. And shall we not open our eyes
to such a light? Can we be such strangers, such
enemies, to ourselves, and our own interests, as to
love darkness rather than this light ?^
(2.) We cannot but perceive, that there is an in-
finite distance between God and man, and therefore
should gladly believe in one, in whose person the
divine and human natures are wonderfully united.
Tib light of nature shows us the glory of a God
abov^ us ; as heaven is high above the earth, so are
his thoughts and ways above ours : whence we are
tempted to infer, that there is no having any com-
munion with him, that he is not conversable with
us, and that we cannot expect that he should take
any cognizance of us. Shall we not therefore wel-
come the tidings of a Mediator between God and
man, even the Man Christ Jesus ? Shall we not be
glad to hoar, that this God above us is, in Christ,
Immanuel, God with t»,* God in our nature, God
manifested in the flesh ; the Eternal Word incarnate,
which will facilitate our communion with God, and
represent it to us as a thing possible ? When we look
upon God as the almighty Creator and Sovereign of
the world, a being of infinite perfection and blessed-
ness, we are tempted to say, Witt this God in very
deed dwell with men, with mean and sinful worms,
on the earth f But when we look upon the Son of
God clothed with a body, and visiting in great hu-
mility this remote comer of the universe, which God
has let out to the children of men, as a vineyard to
unthankful husbandmen, we are encouraged to
say with triumph. Behold the tabernacle of God is
with men, and his sanctuary in the midst of them for
evermore.* We are quite lost in our thoughts, when
we come to meditate seriously on the divine perfec-
tions, for they are an unfathomable depth, which we
cannot find out, concerning which we cannot order
our speech by reason of darkness ; If a man speak,
surely he shall be swallowed up :^ but when we come
with an eye of faith to see the Father in Christ, who
is both God and man, and are brought by faith to
Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and through
him to God the Judge of all,' this makes his glory
the more intelligible, (he that hath seen me, says
Christ, hath seen the Father,) his example the more
T John iu. 19. » Malt i. 33. > Ezek. zuvii. 96, 27.
J Job xxxvii. 90. B Heb. ili. 33, %i.
FROM FAITH IN GOD.
793
jraitable, his favour the more attainahle, and man's
communion with him the more practicable.
(3.) We cannot but perceive the matter to be yet
worse; — ^that there is a quarrel between God and man
bj reason of sin ; that the God who made us is not
only a God above «#, but a God agaimt us ; and there-
fore we should gladly believe in him by whom that
quarrel is taken up, in whom God was reconciling
the world to hintiself, * and who is our peace. You
believe in God, your great Lord and Lawgiver ; and
do you not believe, that he requires of you an exact
conformity to the law of your creation ; that since he
made you for himself, to show forth his praise, you
should accordingly live to his honour ; that he who
eodaed you with the powers of reason, designed that
Tour appetites and passions should always act un-
der the direction and dominion of those powers?
Does not even the light of nature tell you, that God,
who is the best of beings, is to be loved and delight-
ed in above all ; that all the gifts of his bounty are
to be received by us with thankfulness, and all the
rebukes of his justice submitted to with patience ?
These are the rules which 3*00 know you should
ha\e been ruled by : but you know you have come
short of these rules ; that those affections of your
son Is have been set upon the world and the flesh,
which should have been set upon God only; that
th(^ appetites of a mortal body, by which you are
allied to the earth, have been indulged, to the un-
speakable disgrace and detriment of an immortal
spirit, by which you are allied to the upper world.
It is not only the Scripture, but even natural con-
science, that has concluded us all under sin. Those
who had not the law, yet showed the accusing,
convineing work of the law written in their hearts.*"
And will not your own hearts tell you likewise, that
TOQ having offended God, he is displeased with you,
and yon lie under his wrath ? If God be infinitely
perfect, as certainly he is, he is infinitely just and
holy; and as the Governor of the world, is engaged
in honour to punish sin, that his law may not be
trampled on, and his dominion made contemptible.
I)oyou believe this concerning God, and this con-
eemiog yourselves? and will you not welcome the
tidings of a reconciliation between you and God, and
cladly believe in him who was made sin and a curse
for Hit, that we through him might have righteous-
ness and life ? Was Christ slain as a sacrifice to
slay this enmity between us and God, and shall not
v<^ by faith lay our hands on the head of this sa-
crifice, and apply for an interest in it ? Shall not
the Prince of peace be our peace ? Shall not we
receire the atonement,' consent to it, confide in it,
and take the comfort of it, when it is an atonement
^hich God himself has appointed and accepted ?
\^ hen we see that God contends with us, and that
• S Cor. ▼. 19. i» Rom. ii. 14. 15. « Rom. v. 11.
4 Lflkc xiT. 31. • I Cor. i. 39. f Jcr. Hi. 19.
it is in vain for us to think of contending with him ;
with ten thousand we dare not meet him that comes
against us with twenty thousand;'^ it is like setting
briers and thorns before a consuming fire, which are
fuel to it, instead of being a fence against it ; sure
we shall see it is our interest to take hold on his
strength, that we may make peace with him ; es-
pecially when this method of reconciliation is not an
uncertain thing, for he has told ns we shall make
peace with him.
(4.) Yet this is not the worst of it : we cannot but
perceive that we are corrupt and sinful, that our na-
ture is depraved and vitiated, and wretchedly dege-
nerated from what it was, as it came out of God's
hand ; and, therefore, we should gladly believe in
him who is made of God to us not only righteousness
but sanctification,* and who came into the world, not
only to restore us to the favour of God, but to renew
his image upon us. Do we not sensibly find by
daily experience, that our minds are alienated from
God, and there is in them a strong bias toward the
world and the flesh ; that we are not of ourselves
either inclinable to, or sufficient for, any thing that
is good, but continually prone to that which is evil ?
And being thus sick, from the crown of the head to
the sole of the foot distempered, shall we not re-
joice to hear of balm in Gilead, and a Physician there?
And shall we not apply that balm, and put ourselves
under the care of that Physician ? If you believe in
God, you believe that as he is holy so you should
be holy : but you find you are not so, nothing of his
resemblance appears upon you, and therefore you
cannot expect he should put you among his children,
or give you the pleasant land.^ Will you not then
believe also in him, who has undertaken not only to
show us the glory of the Lord, but by his Spirit to
change us into the same image from glory to glory ;S
and is able to make good his undertaking? For
therefore it pleased the Father ^ that in him all fulness
should dwell, ihsit from his fulness all we might receive^
and grace for grace ;^ that being gifted into that
good olive, we might partake of his root and fatness;
and though severed from him we can do nothing, yet
we may be able to do all things through Christ
strengthening us.* If it be indeed, as it ought to be,
our shame and sorrow, that we are by nature so much
under the dominion of a vain and carnal mind, — no
saying will appear to us so well worthy of all ac-
ceptation, as this, that Christ Jesus came to save his
people from their sins,^ and to purify them a peculiar
people to himself zealous of good works, ^
(5.) If we believe that God is the Father of our
spirits, we cannot but perceive that they are immor-
tal, that they must shortly return to God who gave
them, and that we are made for another world, — and
therefore will gladly believe in one who will be our
r 3 Cor. iii. la
k Matt. 1. 21.
h John i. 16.
1 Phil. iv. 13.
1 Tit. ii. 14.
794
FAITH IN CHRIST INFERRED
guide to that world, who will stand our friend in the
jadgment, and secure our welfare in the future state.
Do we not find our souls strongly impressed with a
belief of their own existence in a state of separation
from the body ? The thinking part^ even of the hea-
then world, did so. Natural conscience, which is
either a heaven or a hell in men's own bosoms, plainly
intimates to them, that there is a state of rewards and
punishments on the other side death, and a righteous
doom of every man to the one or to the other : but
when we come to inquire, ** How shall we make the
Judge our friend ? What plea will bring us off in the
judgment ? What is the happiness that is set before
us in another world ? And what course shall we
take to make it sure to ourselves?" When we ask
*< What shall wc do to get above the fear of death ? "
(we see its stroke inevitable ;) " what have we where-
with to arm ourselves against its terror? From what
advances here can we take a comfortable prospect of
our state hereafter ? We must shortly be stript of all
our enjoyments in this world ; what is there'that will
befriend us in our removal to another world ? " Here
the light of nature leaves us quite at a loss. Neither
ibe philosophers with their wisest considerations,
nor the infidels with their boldest contradictions,
could ever reconcile men to death, or enable them
upon any good grounds cheerfally to quit this world.
Animula vagula, hlandnla, (said one of the wisest of
the heathen upon his death-bed,) qu4B nunc abibis in
locaf^'Whither art thou now going, O my poor soul?
Death, with a noted atheist, was ^great leap in the darh.
It is certain, nothing but Christ and his gospel can
furnish us with such comforts, as will carry us with-
out the fear of evil through the valley of the shadow
of death. Shall we not then readily believe in Christ,
and bid his gospel welcome into our hearts, that light
by which such clear and full discoveries are made of
life and immortality ? Shall we not depend upon him
with an entire satisfaction, and give up ourselves to
his conduct, who has enabled us to triumph over death
and the grave, and to say, O death, where is thy sting j
where is thy terror? Have we not reason to entertain
that institution as of a divine original, which is so
wisely, so kindly, suited to our case in the last and
greatest exigence of it ; which shows us the wny,
through this wilderness, to an everlasting rest for
souls ; which divides Jordan before us, and makes a
path through it for the ransomed of the Lord to pass
over? Do we believe that our souls must go to God ?
and shall we not believe in him who will introduce us,
who will receive our spirits, and present them to the
Father, and lodge them in the mansions which be
himself has prepared in his Father's house ? How
forward should dying creatures be to embrace a
living Saviour, who is and will be life in death to
all who by faith are united to him, and who has said.
Because I live ye shall live also.^
m John xiv. 19.
Now lay all this together, and then tell me, ^whe-
ther those who believe In God have not a great deal
of reason to believe also in Jesus Christ ; not only
to desire such a Saviour, but to depend apon tbe
Lord Jesus, as every way fitted to be the Savioar,
and able to save to the uttermost.
And now will you hear the conclusion of the tv^bole
matter ?
1. Let us be more and more confirmed in oar be-
lief of the principles of natural religion, which Chris-
tianity supposes, and is founded upon. Let the die-
fates of the light and law of nature be always sacred
with us, and have a commanding sway and empire
in our souls. So agreeable is revealed reli^on to
right reason, and the established rules of good and
evil, that what contradicts and violates them, how
plausible soever its pretensions may be, oug^ht to be
rejected, as no part of Christianity.
Therefore they who, under colour of seal for
Christianity, hate and persecute their brethren, kill
them, and say they do God good service, or under
that pretence despise dominion, resist the powers
that are ordained of God, break the public order, and
disturb the public peace, who think no faith is to be
kept with those they call heretics, and that it is law-
ful to lie for the truth ; these put a high affront upon
the Christian religion, and do it the greatest wrong
and injury imaginable. To such we may say, Yoa
profess to believe in Christ, but do you believe in
God? Is Christ the minister of sin? If he came not
to destroy the law and the prophets, but to falfil them,
can we think he came to set up a religion that should
be served and advanced by a flat contradiction to
those principles and rational instincts, (if I may so
call them,) which were prior and superior even to the
law of Moses and the prophetical inspirations?
Christ came to renew the tables which sin had
broken ; not to blot out any thing that was eng^raven
in the heart of man by nature, but to write apon the
tables according to the first writing, and to add thereto
many like words. If it became Christ, no doubt it be-
comes Christians, to fulfil all righteousnes* ;^ for we
may say of the principles of natural relif^ion, as
St. Paul does of the law of Moses, Do we make them
void by the faith of the gospel ? God forbid ; nay, wc
establish them.*^
2. Yet let us not rest in a mere natural religion,
and a compliance with it, but let us, with the fullest
conviction and highest satisfaction, embrace and
firmly adhere to the principles of revealed religion,
and submit to the commanding, constraining^ power
and influence of them. Let pure Christianity govern
us in every thing, and both give law to us and give
peace to us. Let faith be our guide with relation
to another world, as sense and reason are with rela-
tion to this world ; and then wc shall be led into the
paths, and brought under the dominion, of Christ's
n Matt. ili. 15.
e Rom. iii. 31.
FROM FAITH IN GOD.
796
boir religion. If there be any divine revelation in
the world, it is in the Holy Seriptare, on which
Christianity is built ; and there certainly it is, for
ire cannot think that God has pat fallen mankind
npon a new trial, (which he has not done for fallen
ingels,) and ^iven him no new rule of daty and ex-
|)ectation, accommodated to that state of trial. The
Scripture, therefore, is that which we are to believe,
0(0 which we must search, and on which we must
mild, for that is it that testifies of Christ Christ
herefore is he to whose conduct we must entirely
leTote ourselves, and on the all-sufficiency of whose
nediation we must rely ; else we are unworthy to
tear the name of Christians, and wear the livery of
lis family.
As there is a practical atheism, which they are
;hargeable with who profess to know God, but in
rorks deny him ; so there is a practical deism, which
bey are chargeable with, who profess to believe in
'hrist, and yet have no regard to his mediation be-
veen God and man : and both the one and the other
n no less dangerous than the speculative, and so
Duch the worse, that they carry in them a self-con-
radiction.
Let OS who are ministers make it our business to
idrance the honour of Christ, and to bring all to
lim ; as faithful friends of the Bridegroom, who re-
w^tgrentlif to hear tke Brideffroom's voice ^^ and to
erre his interests ; else we do not answer the cha-
>cter we are dignified vrith, as ku ministers.
Messed Paul, though he was a great scholar, deter-
oined to know nothing but Christ and him cruci-
ed«^ counting all but loss for the excellency of that
Bowledge •/ and be did as he determined, for *' in
II his writings" (as one of the ancients observes)
* he breathes nothing but Christ." ** Preach Christ,
fotber," (said the famous Mr. Perkins, to a young
unister who asked his advice,) '* preach Christ,
mother." It is the language of all faithful minis-
^^T We preach not ounelvet, but Christ Jenu the
^^ end ourselves your servants for his sake,* It is
^ eharacter of Christians, that they have learned
•hrist :< but how shall they learn him, if their teach-
n do not preach him ? The whole gospel centres
9 Christ ; in him therefore let all our preaching cen-
^e. Let us preach down sin as an enemy to Christ,
Qd that which he died to separate us, and so to save
^ from : let us press duty with an eye to Christ, in
^pliance with him, and gratitude to him. Let us
'«3cribe comforts fetched from Christ, and founded
pon his mediation. Do we aim at the conversion
dinners? Let us call them to Christ, persuade
lem to come and take his yoke upon them, and re-
■trnmend them to him as the best Master. Do we
'in at the edification of saints ? Let us lead them
'^ a further acquaintance with Christ, that they
fJohniiL« qICor.il. 2. r Phil. Hi. 8. . 9 Cor. iv.
!>.
may grow up into him" in all things, as their Head
and Root Are we God's mouth to his people ? Let
us do as God did when he spake from heaven, give
honour to Christ, and direct all to hear him.^ Are
we their mouth to God ? Let us offer up all the spi-
ritual sacrifices upon this altar, that sanctifies every
gift Let this golden thread run through the whole
web of our praying and preaching ; and in every
thing let precious Jesus ever have the pre-eminence.
Let us all, both ministers and Christians, make
Jesus Christ all in all to us ; to us to live must be
Christ : and as we have received him by our profession
of his name, we must so walk in him ; and whatever
we do in word or deed, do all in his name, with an
eye to his will as our rule, and his glory as our end,
depending upon him both for strength and righte-
ousness, and continually rejoicing and glorying in
him.
It is to be feared, Acre are some eyen within the
pale of the church, who seem to have some little re-
ligion, but they forget Christ, and leave him out of
it If we come to talk with them about their souls,
and their eternal salvation, we find they have a re-
verence for God, and a sense of their duty to him,
which they speak of with some clearness and con-
cern ; they have right notions of justice and charity,
fidelity, patience, and temperance, yea, and of devo-
tion to God, and invocation of him ; and are under
convictions of the necessity of these, for they believe
in God : but when we speak to them also of believ-
ing in Jesus Christ, of their coming to God as a Fa-
ther by him as Mediator, of the need they have of
him in every thing wherein they have to do with
God, and the constant dependence they ought to
have upon him, they are ready to say, as the people
did of Ezekiel, Doth not he speak parables ?* This is
a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation, that
among those who are called Christians, there should
be those found who are strangers to Christ, and are
content to be so ; to whom the Light of the world is as
a lamp despised^ and the Fountain of life as a
broken cistern ; and who are ready to say to Christ,
Depart from «#, and. What can the Redeemer do for
iM, which we cannot do for ourselves? We pitif those
who never heard of Christ, whom this Day-spring
from on high never visited ; for, How shall they be-
lieve in him of whom they have not heard? But we are
justly anyry at those to whom the great things of the
gospel are preached, and yet they are accounted by
them as strange and foreign things, and things that
they are no way concerned in. It is an amazing
infatuation, and what we may stand and wonder at.
Be astonished, O heavens, at this !
(1.) It is strange, that any who are baptized, and
are called Christians, can forget Christ, and leave
him out of their religion; surely they must have
t Eph. iv. 90. II Eph. iv 1&. v Matt xvii. 5. w Ezek. xx. 4o.
toe
FAITH IN CHRIST INFERRED
forgot their Christian name, for they have wretchedly
forgot themselyes. What ? a Christian, and yet a
stranger to Christ! Aui nomeHf aut mares mnta —
Either change thy name, or change thy ipirit. Is not
the whole family, hoth in heaven and earth,< deno-
minated from him, as having a necessary and con-
stant dependence upon him ? and yet he shall be out
of mind^ because for the present he is out of sight.
Shall he be made a cipher of, who is to us the only
figure, and who in the upper world makes so great
a figure? Were not we baptized into his name;
and by our baptism entered into his school, hired
into his family, and enlisted under his banner ; and
yet shall we set him aside, as if we had no occasion
for him? If circumcision was to the breakers of
the law made uncircumcision,^ shall not baptism be
nullified, and made no baptism, to the contemners
of the gospel ?
(2.) It is strange, that any who are convinced of
sin, and see themselves, as all the world is, guilty
before God, can forget Christ ; and leave him out of
their religion, as if they could do well enough with-
out him. What ? a sinner, and yet make light of
the Saviour ! A dying perishing sinner, and yet
not believe in him, whose errand into the world was
to redeem us from all iniquity ! Is the avenger of
blood in pursuit of us, and just at our back, and
shall not the city of refuge be ever in our eye ? Can
we see our misery and danger by reason of sin, (and
we are shamefully blind and partial to ourselves, if we
do not,) and not be continually looking unto Jesus,
the great propitiation ? Can we read the curse of the
law in force against us ? can we see the fire of God's
wrath ready to kindle upon us ? and not be glad to
accept of Christ upon his own terms, Christ upon
any terms ?
(3.) It is strange that any who desire to have com-
munion with God, to hear from him, and speak to
him, and in both to obtain his favour, should forget
Christ, and leave him out of their religion. I hope
none I speak to are of thosb who say to the Almighty,
Depart from iw, we desire not the hnowledge of thy
ways ; but that you will each of you say, with David,
It is good for me to draw near to God,* Do you in-
deed think it so ? Is that your choice ? Is that your
delight ? Is this the thing you labour after, and are
ambitious of, that whether present or absent you may
be accepted of the Lord 7* You know not yourselves,
you know not your God, if it be not : and if it be,
how can you expect to be accepted, but in the Be-
loved ;^ and that the holy God should be well pleas-
ed with you who are unholy creatures, but in and
through a Mediator ? It is by his Son that God does
in these last days ^ speak to us, and it is by him that
we are to speak to God ; so that we cannot with any
confidence approach to God, nor have any comfort-
s Eph. iii. 15. r Rom. il. 35. i Ps. Izziil. 28. a 2 Cor. v. 9.
able communion with him, out of Christ. If we
neglect him, we come without our errand, and shall
be sent away without an answer.
(4.) It is strange, that any who are in care about
their souls and another world, should forget Christ,
and leave him out of their religion. Brethren, you
see yourselves dying daily, death is working in you ;
and you know that after death is a judgment, which
will fix you in an unchangeable state of happiness
or misery in perfection ; yon are standing upon the
brink of an awful eternity, and are just ready to step
in ; now how can you hope to escape everlasting
misery, much less to obtain everlasting happiness,
unless you secure your interest in, and keep up your
correspondence with, him, to whom all judgment is
committed, who has the keys of hell and death in
his hand, and is himself the resurrection and the
life ? Are we not concerned still to make mention
of him, to whom the Father has given power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as
were given him,<i and who opens the kingdom of
heaven to all believers. How dare we venture into
another world, withoutbeing fixed on this foundation ?
Were our eyes opened, and our consciences duly
awakened, the very thoughts of dying and going to
judgment, would make such a terror to ourselves, as
nothing could relieve us against, but a believing
sight of Christ sitting at the right hand of God, ready
to receive the souls that are in sincerity committed
to him, to redeem them from the power of the grave,
and to present them to his Father.
3. Let us all make it to appear in all our devo-
tions, and in our whole conversation, that we not
only believe in God, but that we believe also in Jesus
Christ. Let our spirits be purely Christian ; leaven-
ed with the gospel of Christ, and partaking of its
relish and savour ; delivered into it as into a mould,
receiving its shape and impression, and in every
thing conforming ourselves to it The poor are said
to receive the gospel f they are itMi77«X4^ovrfli — evan-
gelized, so the word is. What will it avail us in the
gospel, to behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
unless we be changed into the same image, and re-
flect that light which shines upon us, so that all who
converse with us, may take knowledge of us, that we
have been with Jesus,^ and that he dwells in our'
hearts by faith.
Let Christ be our plea for the pardon of sin, the
plea we always put in, and firmly rely upon ; let us
never expect redemption but through his blood, even
the forgiveness of our sins ; therefore we hope it is
God who does and will justify, because it is Christ
that died, yea rather that is risen again ; and there-
fore we hope he will be our advocate with the Fa-
ther, and a righteous, gracious advocate for us,
because he is the propitiation for out sins. Let us
b Eph i. 6. c Heb. i. i. d John xvii. 3. « Matt. xi. 5. f Acteiv. 13.
PROM FAITH IN GOD.
7»7
make him oar plea, and he will himself be our
pleader.
Let Christ be our peace, and onr peace-maker.
When oar consciences are offended and quarrel with
us, when our hearts reproach us, and are ready to
coDdemn us ; let the blood of Christ, by which we
are reconciled to God, be effectual to reconcile us
to ourselves, and let nothing else avail, or be ad-
mitted to do it What satisfied God, let that, and
that only, satisfy us ; and let that pacify our con-
sciences which will also purify them. Let him also
be oar peace among ourselves. Let all good Chris-
tians, however differing in other things, be one in
kim, as he has prayed they may be : and let him who
is the centre of their unity, be the powerful cement
of their affections.
Let Christ be our prophet, and by him let us ask
coansel of the Lord, Lord, what wilt thou have me to
do J* Let him be our oracle, and by him let us be
determined ; let the mind of Christ be our mind in
every thing, and in order to it let his word dwell
richly in us.**
Let Christ be our priest, and into his hand let us
pat all our services, all our spiritual sacrifices, to be
offered up to God, because through him only they
are acceptable.* By this name let us ever know him,
let as ever own him. The Lord our right coutness.^
Let Christ be our pattern ; let our spirits be re-
newed in conformity to his death and resurrection,
and let as be so planted together in the likeness* of
both, that it may be truly said, Christ is formed in
us," Christ lives in us,° and we are the epistles of
Christ.* Let onr whole conversation be governed
in conformity to his example, which he has left us
on porpose tiiat we might follow his steps.p Let us
so bear about with us continually the dying of the
Ix>rd Jesus, as that the life also of Jesus may be
manifested in our mortal hody,^
Let Christ be the beloved of our soul, and let us
make it appear that he is so, by our delight in his
f Acts ix. e.
k Jcr. xziii. 6.
■ Gal. iL sa
b Col. iil. 16.
1 Rom. vi. 5.
» 2 Cor. iii. 3.
i 1 Pet U. 5.
m Gal. iv. 19.
P 1 Pet 11. 21.
presence, onr grief for his withdrawings, our con-
stant care to please him, and fear to offend him, and
our diligence to approve ourselves to him, as one we
esteem and love. Let us have such a constant
regard to him, to his will as our rule, and to his
glory as our end, that we may truly say. To us to
live is Christ,' and to us living and dying he is gain.
Let Christ be our hope, let him be our joy ; and
let us make it to appear he is so, by such a holy
cheerfulness of spirit, as will be a continual feast
to us. Let us see, let us find, enough in Christ to
silence all onr fears, and to balance all our griefs,
and so to keep us always calm and easy. Do we
believe in God ? Do we believe also in Jesus Christ?
Then let not our hearts be troubled, whatever hap-
pens to us, but let us be kept in perfect peace.'
Let Christ be our crown of glory,' and our diadem
of beauty ; let us value ourselves by our interest in
him, and relation to him. At his feet let all our
crowns be cast ; let boasting in ourselves be for ever
excluded, and let him that glories glory in the Lord,
in the Lord Jesus.
Let Christ be our heaven ; let us reckon it one of
the chief joys of glorified saints in the other world,
that they are gathered to Christ" there, they see his
glory ,^ and share in it, they sit with him at his table,
sit with him on his throne. And let us therefore not
only be willing to die when God calls us, but be
desirous to depart and to be with Christ,^ to be to-
gether for ever vrith him, which will be best of all.
To conclude. Let that be the language of our
settled judgments, which a learned and religious
gentleman of the last age took for his motto, wrote
in his books, contrived to have continually before
him, and ordered to be engraven in the rings given
at his funeral ; '* Christ is a Christian's all."*
And let that be the language of our pious affection,
with which one of the martyrs triumphed in the
flames; *' None but Christ, none but Christ.''
4 2 Cor. iv. 10.
c laa. izvllL 5.
w Phil. 1. 23.
r Phil. 1. 21. I ba. xxvi. 3.
n 2The8B. 11. I. T John xvii. 24.
• Judge Warbuiton.
A SERMON,
CONCERNING THE
FORGIVENESS OF SIN AS A DEBT,
PREACHED IN LONDON, JUNE Ist, 1711,
Matt. vi. 12. And forgive tu our debti,
COMPARED VITB
Luke XI. 4. And forgive vs our sins.
From this petition in the Lord's prayer, thas dif-
ferently expressed by the two evangelists, we may
easily observe, (for prayer may preach, this prayer
preaches,)
I. That sin is a debt to God Almighty ; nay, it
becomes us to express it with application, (for, so
such truths as these look best,XO«r sins are our debts.
II. That the pardon of sin is the forgiveness of
this debt, and the discharge of the debtor from it :
and as the former must be thought of with a peni-
tent application, confessing and bewailing our sins,
as our debts, so this with a believing application.
This is a pririlege offered to us in the gospel : O that
we might partaiie of it !
Repentance and remission of sins, are the two
great things which ministers are appointed to preach,
in Christ's name, to all nations ; and which Christ
is himself exalted to the right band of the Father to
give,* else our preaching them would be in vain. I
am here this day to preach them, depending upon
divine grace to give them ; as an ambassador for
Christ, to beseech you, by repentance for sin, to be
reconciled to God,^ th^ by the remission of sin he
may be reconciled to you. Brethren, these are
matters of life and death, matters of everlasting con-
cern ; and therefore challenge your serious atten-
tion.
Many of you have a prospect of drawing nigh to
the Lord, and having communion with him at his
table : and what better service can I do you, than
to assist your repentance in your preparations for
that ordinance, and to assure you of pardon, upon
repentance, in your attendance upon it? To show
you sin, that in reflection upon it you may sow in
tears ; and to show you Christ, that in dependence
on him you may reap in joy,^ and by him may have
your tears wiped away.
This similitude, which represents sin as a debt,
and the pardon of sin as the forgiving of that debt,
our Saviour often used : and it is a proper one, and
very significant, and I hope by the blessing of God
may be of use both to let us into the understanding
of this great concern, and to affect us with it
I. The sins we are to repent of are our debts to
God.
There is a debt to God, which arises from the
command of the law, and we do not pray to be dis-
charged from that: a debt of duty, which we always
owe, and must be always paying in the strength of
his grace ; a yoke so easy, that we cannot desire to
be eased of it ; a service so reasonable, as that, if we
understand ourselves aright, we cannot but be rea-
soned into it.
We are debtors^ not to the fiesh^ says the apostle ;
we are under no obligation to serve it and please it,
and make provision for it ; which intimates that we
are debtors to God : that which is said to be our
duty to do,* is o w^cXo/icv woifioatf that which we owe
the doing of. We owe adoration to God, as a Being
infinitely bright, and blessed, and glorious. We owe
allegiance to him as our Sovereign Lord and Ruler.
We are bound in honour and duty, in gratitude and
interest, to observe his statutes, and to keep his laws ;
are bound by all the relations we stand in to him as
our Creator, Owner, and Benefactor, to love and
fear him, and under the influence of those two com-
manding principles, to serve and obey him : and we
must reckon it our happiness, that we arc thas
obliged, and labour to be more and more sensible of
the obligations. The loosing of our other bonds
a Luke xxiv. 47. Acts ▼. 31.
b S Cor. V. 90.
c Ps. cxxvl. 5, 6.
d Rom. viii. 13.
• Lxike xvii. 10.
A SERMON ON FORGIVENESS OF SIN.
•78^
strengthens these ; so the Psalmist thoaght, when
in consideration thereof he said, O Lord, truly lam
tiff servanif I am thy servtmif for thoa hast loosed my
There is likewise a debt we owe to one another,
vhich we must not pray to be discharged from, but
alirajs liept under the bonds of, and that is, bro-
therly love. When we are commanded to render to
all their dae, so as to owe no man any thing ; yet
¥e are told we most still owe this, to love one an-
others which when we do we pay a just debt, and
jet must still abound more and more.^
There isadebt to God, which arises from the curse
and condemnation of the law, which we are fallen
vnder, by our breach of the command of the law ;
aod this is that which we here pray to be discharged
from: the debt of punishment, that death which we
are told is the wages of tin,^ It is a penal bond, by
vhich we are obliged to our dnty ; so that for non-
performance of the duty we become liable to the
penalty: and thus our sins are our debts ; and being
all sinners, we are all debtors. Know then that the
Lord has a controversy ^ with you, an action against
ym, an action of debt, wherein — ^in his name— I
here arrest yon all, pursuant to the great intention
of the Spirit, which is to convince the world of sin,^
to charge men with a debt to God, and to prove it
opon them.
In prosecution of this, I shall endeavour to show,
1. How we come to be in debt to God, how this
debt is contracted, and what is the g^ond of the
action. That I may keep to the comparison, not
forcing it, but fairly following it, you shall see that
ve ran in debt to God, as the children of men run
in debt to one another.
(I.) We are in debt to God, as a servant u indebt--
td to kis master, when he has neglected his business,
ud wasted or embezzled his goods. Our Saviour
represents our case like that of a servant to a king,
vho when he came to be reckoned with, (probably
tbe revenues of the crown passing through his hands,)
vas foand in debt to the king his master ten tkou^
<W telents ;■ and that of a steward who was accused
hkis lord thai he had wasted his goods,* either through
^oth and negligence, not taking the care and pains
^^t them, that by the duty of his place he ought to
bve done ; or through dishonesty, converting them
to other uses than they were intended for, and serv-
iD*: himself with them.
We are servants to God, and have work to do for
^ advancing of the interest of his glory and king-
dtimin the world, and incur own hearts. This work
is Qodone ; we have stood all the day idle, and have
done nothing, or next to nothing, of the great work
ve were sent into the world about ; nothing to answer
f P». cxTt la.
I Bom. Ti. 13.
a MaU. xTlii. M.
ff RoiD.xUI.8.
k Mic. vf. %
a Luke %fi, 1.
h 1 TheBB. iv. I.
1 John xvl. 1.
• Matt. sxT. 26, 30.
the ends of our creation and redemption, and in pur-
suance of the intentions of our birth and baptism ;
and so we become to be in debt, and deserve, not
only to have our wages stopt, but to lie under the
doom of the unprofitable servant, who is therefore
called wiched, because slothful.*
We have been intrusted with talents,? which were
put into our hands with this charge, trade till I come;
make use of them in your Master's senrice, and for
his honour: but we have not improved these talents
for the end for which we have been intrusted with
them, we have hid our Lord's money, have buried
our talent, and so we come to be indebted. Time is
a talent, it ought to have been filled up with doty ;
but we have mispent it, and trified it away, and have
not done the work of each day in its day, according
as the duty of the day required : we are therefore so
much in debt for lost time, time that can never be
recalled. Opportunity is a talent, time fitted for
the doing of that which will not be done at all, or
not so well done another time. The time of youth,
sabbath-time, the seasons of grace-— the minutes of
these are in a particular manner precious ; but we
have not improved these; we have received the
grace of God in them in vain, have had many a
price put into our hands to get wisdom,^ which for want
of a heart, a heart at the right hand, for want of skill,
and will, and courage, we have not made the right
use of. Our reason is a talent, with all its powers
and faculties, which should have been employed in
honouring God, but has been so wretchedly misem-
ployed, that the world hy wisdom (reason doing its
best, as it thought) hnew not God, Our limbs and
senses, our bodily health and strength, are talents ;
for it is designed we should glorify God with our
bodies i' but the members of our bodies have been
instruments of unrighteousness * to his dishonour ;
and for this abuse of them we are indebted. What
estate we have in the world, what interest we have
in others, or influence upon them, is a talent, puts
us in a capacity of serving God, and doing good.
But have we done so ? No, we have all come short,
far short of the glory of God, have come short of
glorifying him, and therefore deserve to come short
of being glorified with him.*
We are stewards of the manifold grace of God :"
a good stewardship it is, an honourable place, and
very profitable. But have we been good stewards?
It is required of stewards that they he faithful f but
when instead of living to God, and doing all to his
glory, we live to ourselves,^ eat and drink to our-
selves, when self in every thing must be gratified,
and self glorified, and our own things sought more
than the things of Christ,' then, like unfaithful stew-
ards, we convert that to our own use which should
P Luke six. 13.
• Rom. Ti. 10.
» I Cor. iv. a.
q ProT, xvii. 16.
t Rom. lii. 23.
V Zech. vii. 6.
r 1 Cor. vi. SO.
n 1 Pet. iv. 10.
« Phil. ii. ai.
702
FAITH IN CHRIST INFERRED
dtty,p So that, in short, if we believe that there is
such a thing as a divine revelation, that God has
made a discovery of himself, and of his will and grace,
to the children of men, we must believe the gospel,
and the testimony it bears, God has sent his son into
the world f not to condemn the worlds but that the world
through him might have righteoasness and life.
5. If we rightly apprehend how matters stand be-
tween God and man since the fall, as those must do
who believe in God, who believe his holiness and
justice, and his relations to man, we shall readily
receive the notice which the gospel gives us of a
Mediator between God and man ; not only because
we shall soon perceive how desirable it is that there
should be such a Mediator, (and we are easily
brought to believe what is for our honour and ad-
vantage, quod volumus facile credimus—^what we wish
we easily believe^) but because we shall perceive,
likewise, how probable it is that a God of infinite
grace and mercy should appoint such a Mediator,
and make him known to us. It is a great confirm-
ation of the truth of the Christian religion, that it
not only agrees with, and is a ratification of, the
principles and laws of natural religion, and is an
improvement and advancement of them, but that it
supplies the deficiencies of it ; it takes us up and
helps us out, where that fails us and leaves us at a
loss. So that if we make just reflections upon our-
selves, and our own case as it appears to us by the
light of nature, there cannot but be a disposition in^
us to receive and embrace the gospel, and to enter-
tain it not only as a faithful saying, but as well
worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners. If wc rightly believe
in God, and withal rightly understand ourselves,
we cannot but perceive our case to be such as calls
for the interposition of a Mediator between us and
God ; and we are undone if there be no such a one;
and we will therefore cheerfully receive him.
(I.) We cannot but perceive that man has in a
great measure lost the knowledge of God, and there-
fore should gladly believe in him who has revealed
him to us. It is certainly the greatest satisfaction
and best entertainment to our intellectual powers,
to know God the author and felicity of our beings.
The understanding of man cannot rest short of this
knowledge ; but we find that by the entrance of sin,
our understandings are darkened,*! and the children
of men are generally alienated from the divine light
and life, through the ignorance that is in them, be-
cause of the blindness of their heart : The world by
wisdom hnew not God/ and the things of God SLte fool-
ishness to the natural man.* Are we sensible of this
as our misery, that we cannot by any researches of
our own come to such a knowledge of God, as is
necessary to our communion with him ? If we are
P Acts ziif. 37.
■ 1 Cot. ii. 94.
q Eph. i. 1&
t I John i. la.
T 1 Cor. i. 31.
a John i. 0.
so, we shall readily embrace Christ as a prophet,
who having lain in the bosom of the Father from
eternity, has declared him < to the children of men,
and has brought into this dark world the light of
the knowledge of this glory, with such convincing
evidences of a divine truth, and such endearing in-
stances of a divine grace and love in this light, as
are abundantly suflRcient both to captivate the un-
derstanding and engage the afiections. This is the
true light, which is sufficient to (t^Af^n every man thai
Cometh into this world^^ and to direct him through it
to a better world. And shall we not open our eyes
to such a light? Can we be such strangers, such
enemies, to ourselves, and our own interests, as to
love darkness rather than this light ? "
(2.) We cannot but perceive, that there is an in-
finite distance between God and man, and therefore
should gladly believe in one, in whose person the
divine and human natures are wonderfully united.
Tib light of nature shows us the glory of a God
abov^ us ; as heaven is high above the earthy so are
his thoughts and ways above ours: whence we are
tempted to infer, that there is no having any com-
munion with him, that he is not conversable with
us, and that we cannot expect that he should take
any cognizance of us. Shall we not therefore wel-
come the tidings of a Mediator between Qod and
man, even the Man Christ Jesus ? Shall we not be
glad to hoar, that this God above us is, in Christ,
Immanuel, God with u«,* God in our nature, God
manifested in t/ie flesh ; the Eternal Word incarnate,
which will facilitate our communion with God, and
represent it to us as a thing possible ? When we look
upon God as the almighty Creator and Sovereign of
the world, a being of infinite perfection and blessed-
ness, we are tempted to say. Will this God in very
deed dwell with men, with mean and sinful worms,
on the earth ? But when we look upon the Son of
God clothed with a body, and visiting in g^eat hu-
mility this remote comer of the universe, which God
has let out to the children of men, as a vineyard to
unthankful husbandmen, we are encouraged to
say with triumph. Behold the tabernacle of God is
with men, and his sanctuary in the midst of them for
evermore,^ We are quite lost in our thoughts, when
we come to meditate seriously on the divine perfec-
tions, for they are an unfathomable depth, which we
cannot find out, concerning which we cannot order
our speech by reason of darkness ; If a man speah,
surely he shall be swallowed up :' but when we come
with an eye of faith to see the Father in Christ, who
is both God and man, and are brought by faith to
Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and through
him to God the Judge of all,' this makes his glory
the more intelligible, (he that hath seen me, says
Christ, hath seen the Father,) his example the more
T John ill. 19. w Blatt. i. 3a > Ezek. xxxvii. 38, -27.
T Job xxzvil. 30. « Heb. z.ii. 33, m.
FORGIVENESS OF SIN.
601
life, and come to ask, What honour and what dignity
kctk been done ^ to oar great Benefactor for all this ;
we find oar returns of doty and thankfulness no way
answerable to oar receivings of mercy, and so we
become to be in debt
This debt is still the greater, in that we have
made not only poor returns, bot ill returns, to the
God of our mercies : he has nourished and brought
ns up as children, and yet we have rebelled against
bim ; > he has loaded us with benefits, and yet we
bave loaded him with our iniquities : thus have we
requited the Lord, like foolish people and unwise."*
Mach of our debt is contracted by the most base in-
i;Tatitade imaginable to the best of friends, the best
of fathers ; and if you call a man ungrateful, you
can call him no worse.
(4.) Oar debt to God is, a$ the debt of a trespasser
to him upon whom he has trespassed. Our sins, which
are here in the Lord's prayer called, ovr debts, in the
verses following are called wapairrwfuira— our tres-
passes," and thence we commonly use that word, in
repeating the Lord's prayer. An action of damage
dilTersi not much from an action of debt, and this ac-
tion lies against us as sinners.
We have broken through the fences and bounds
which God by his commands has set us, and by
vhich our appetites and passions should have been
restrained and kept within compass ; and so we are
trespassers in debt to God, for trampling his law
under foot, and his authority, as if we were resolved
to be like our forefathers at Babel, from whom
nothing would be restrained that they imagined to do.^
Nay, we have broken in upon God's rights, have
invaded bis prerogatives, by taking that praise to
ourselves which is due to him only. We have gone
upon forbidden ground, and like our first parents
have eaten the fruit of the forbidden tree, by enrich-
ing ourselves with unlawful gains, and indulging
ourselves in unlawful pleasures, meddling with that
of which the Lord our God has said. Ye shall not
ent of it, 9 neither shall ye touch it. By presuming on
comforts which we were not entitled to, we become
trespassers ; as he was that intruded into the wed-
ding'feast, not having on a wedding-garment:
Friend, how earnest thou hither .^
By those trespasses upon the divine authority, we
have injured God, have injured him in his honour.
(And the creature cannot otherwise be injurious to
the Creator but in his honour ; If thou sinnest, what
dost tkoM against kirn?)' By this, we are indebted
to bim ; satisfaction is demanded for the injury :
for Shall a man rob God,* and never be called to an
ac<^fMintfor it? trespass upon him, impeach his ho-
nour, and invade his property, and never hear of it?
(6.) Oar debt to God is as the debt of a covenant
k Est. vi. 3. I IHL 1. 3.
« Matt Ti. 15.
r Gen. ii. 7.
3 F
m Deat zxxii. 0.
o Gen. zi. 6.
q Matt, xxii 12.
breaker, who entered into articles, and gave bond for
performance, but has not made good his agreement,
and so has forfeited the penalty of the bond, which
is recoverable as far as the damage goes, by the
non-performance of the articles. An oath is called
a " Bond upon the soul," because it was commonly
made with an imprecation of evil, if the promise
was not performed ; so that he who broke his pro-
mise so ratified, could not but feel himself under
the burthen of his own curse.
This is our case ; we are bound out from all sin,
and bound up to all duty, not only by the bond of
a command, but by the bond of a covenant, to which
we have ourselves subscribed with the hand; we
have by solemn promise engaged ourselves to be the
Lord's, to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes ;*
our baptism was an early and lasting obligation
upon us to be religious : but we have broken our
covenant with God, have violated our engagements,
and thereby have not only forfeited the blessings of
the covenant, but made ourselves obnoxious to the
curses of it ; and so we are in debt to God, as they
were who transgressed the covenant which they made
before God when they cut the calf in twain ," wish-
ing that they might so be cut asunder, if they did
not deal faithfully. This is assigned as the ground
of God's controversy with the world of mankind,
and for which they are all laid under the arrest of
his curse ; they have changed the ordinance, and bro-
hen the everlasting covenant, therefore hath the curse
devoured the earth,''
(6.) Our debt to God is as the debt of a malefactor,
to the law and to the government, when he is found
guilty of treason or felony, and consequently the law
is to have its course against him. And this is the
most proper notion of the debt of sin ; for though
our Saviour in his parables alludes to money-debts,
yet the case between God and man is not as that
between debtor and creditor in commerce : for God
is our Sovereign, and we are his subjects ; he is our
Law-giver, and we are bound by his laws. The pri-
mary obligation is the command of the law, *to obey
that; which if we fail in, we fail under a secondary
obligation to the curse of the law ; and therefore as
many as being sinners are under the law, are under
the curse, for so it is written, Cursed is every one, that
continues not in every thing that is written in the booh
of the law to do it.^ But God knows, and our own
hearts know, that we have not continued, no not in
any thing ; we are all guilty before God,' subject to
his judgment. The Scripture hath concluded us all
under sin ; shuts us up as debtors and criminals are
shut up in prison, that the law may have its course.
Wc have all broken the commands of the law,
and so are become liable to the sentence of it. The
T Job xxxT. e. • Mai.
« Jcr. xxxiv. 18.
w Gal. iii. lo.
iit. 8. t Deut. xxvl. 17.
V Isa. xxlv. % A.
X Rom. Iii. 19.
802
A SERMON ON
soul that tins shall die;* shall die, as a soul can die;
shall be made completely miserable. Our blessed-
ness is forfeited, as the life, honour, and estate of a
traitor is to the public justice, to which he is thus
to make the uttermost satisfaction he is capable of
making: the case is ours, and a deplorable case it
is. As the corruption of our nature makes us odious
to God's holiness, so our many actual transgressions
make us obnoxious to his justice ; and thus we are
debtors to him.
(7.) To make the matter yet worse, there is a debt
we owe to God, which is as a debt of an heir^t-law
upon his ancestor's account^ of a son who is liable
to his father's debts, as far as what he has by descent
will go, and as far as he has any assets in his hand.
By Adam's disobedience we were all made sinners,*
were all made debtors ; and laid under this charge*
That we are a seed of evil doers.
The human nature comes to us by descent from
our first parents, and it comes to us not only dis-
tempered but attainted by law ; as the blood of a
traitor is corrupted by his attainder. When those
are under the dominion of death who yet never
sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression,^
and God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children, we must own ourselves indebted on the
score of those who are gone before us.
(8.) There are debts of ours, likewise, which are
as the debt of a surety upon account of the principal,
I mean the guilt we have contracted by our partak-
ing of other men's sins,' and making ourselves
accessary to them, as if we had not had guilt enough
of our own to answer for.
We have, by the influence of our example, by
advice or encouragement, by contributing to their
temptations, or exciting their corruptions, or by a
consent' and approbation ex post facto— ^fter the
deed has been done, made ourselves partners with
others in sin, and have had fellowship with the un-
fruitful worhs of darhnesSf which we should rather
have reproved; and so must answer not only for our
doings,' but for the fruit of our doings.
Having opened to you the several ways how we
come into this debt to God, let us next inquire, what
kind of debt sin is.
(1.) It is an old debt, it is an early, nay, it is an
hereditary, encumbrance upon our nature. The foun-
dation of this debt was laid in Adam's sin, we are
in debt for the forbidden fruit he ate, so high does
the account begin, and so far back does it look.
We were bom in debt, were called, and not mis-
called, Transgressors from the womb,^ debtors from
the womb ; we began betimes to go astray from God,
and so to run further and further into debt : it has
been long in the contracting, and continual additions
have been made to it, by renewed acts of rebellion
s Ezra xvili. 4. & Rom. v. 19. b Rom. ?. 14. c i Tim. v. 32.
d Isa. xWiil. s. * Job xiii. 26. f Jer. xxxi. IB.
against God. Job when he is old is made to possess
the iniquities of his youth, and Ephraim heart the
reproach of his youth, ^ And how earnestly does
David pray, O remember not the sins of my youth J
(2.) It is B.just debt, and the demand of it highly
equitable. We cannot say that we are charged with
more than is meet ;^ no, how high soever the penalty
is with which we are loaded, certainly it is less than
our iniquities have deserved.* It is divine justice,
the eternal rule and fountain of justice, tliat charges
us with this debt, and brings this action against us ;
and we are sure that the judgment of God is accord-
ing to truth ; nor is he unrighteous who takes ven-
geance.^
(3.) It is a great debt, more than we imagine. It
is represented by our Saviour as a debt of ten thou-
sand talents.* In the computation of money, a
talent is the highest denomination, it amounts to
above 187 pounds of our money ; multiply that by
ten thousand, and what an immense sum does it
come to. This is designed to show us what a great
deal of malignity there is in every sin, how heinous
it is in its own nature, it runs us a talent in debt ;
and withal how numerous our sins are, how many,
how very many, our actual transgressions, they are
ten thousands, more than the hairs on our heads.
Well might the master say to that servant, when be
upbraided him with his pardon, / forgave thee thai
great debt,
(4.) It \B a growing debt; a debt we are still adding
to, as a tenant who is behind of his rent, every rent*
stage makes the debt more : till we return by repent-
ance, wn are still running further upjn the s<K>re ;
still taking up upon trust, and treasuring up unto
ourselves guilt and wrath against the day of wiatb.™
3. Having seen what kind of debt sin is, let us
next see what kind of debtors sinners commonly
are ; and we shall find them like other unfortunate
debtors, that are going down in the world, and bave
no way to help themselves.
(1.) Bad debtors are oftentimes very careless and
unconcerned about their debts ; when they are so
embarrassed and plunged that they cannot hear the
thought of it, they contrive how to banish the thought
of it, and live merry and secure ; to laugh away, and
drink away, and revel away the care and sorrow of
it. Thus sinners deal with their convictions, tbey
divert them with the^ business of the world, or drown
them in the pleasures of sense. Cain endeavonred
to shake off the terrors of conscience, by building a
city." It was once said of one who died over head
and ears in debt, " Surely his pillow had some ex-
traordinary virtue in it to dispose a man to rest, else
one in that condition could not repose himself upon
it." One would wonder what pillows sinners lay
their heads on, who have been so long in debt, who
r Ps. XXV. 7. h Job xxxiv. 83. i Job xi. 6. k Rom. ii. 2, a, s^
1 Matt, xviii. 94. m Rom. ii. 5. » Gen. iv. 17.
FORGIVENESS OF SIN.
803
are so deep in debt to the jastice of God, and never
Jaj it to heart, nor inquire into the things which be-
long to their peace. O what mnltitudcs of precious
soals are lost, and perish for ever, through mere care-
lessness !
(2.) Bad debtors are commonly very wasteful^ and
when they find they are in debt more than they can
pay, care not bow much further they run into debt.
How extravagant are sinners in spending upon their
lasts! What waste do they make of their time and
opportunity, and of the noble powers and faculties
with which they are endued ! like the prodigal son,
irho, when he was run away from his father's house
into a far country, there wasted his substance with
riotoQS living. So true is that of Solomon, One ein-
ntr destroys much good^** with which he might honour
God, and do service to his generation; and runs
tfaroDgb » great deal of valuable treasure.
(3.) Bad debtors are commonly very shy of their
creditors, and very loth to come to an account Thus
sinners care not how little they come into the pre-
sence of God, but rather say to the Almighty, Depart
from Ks ; they take no pleasure in hearing from him,
in speaking to him, or in having any thing to do
with him ; they desire not the knowledge of his good
ways, lest thereby they should come to the sight of
their own evil ways. They are shy of communion with
their own hearts, and looking into their consciences,
becaase they are not willing to know the worst
by themselves. God hearkens and hears, but they
speak not aright ;' they do not take the first step
toward repentance and conversion, for they make
no serious reflections upon themselves, they never
ask. What have I done ? But the case of those trades-
men is justly suspected, who are strangers to their
hooks, and are afraid of knowing what posture their
affairs are in.
(4.) Bad debtors are sometimes timorous ; and
tboogh they strive to cast off all care about their
debts, yet, when they are threatened, their hearts
fail them, they are subject to frights, and are ready
to think every one they meet is a bailiff. Thus sin-
ners carry about with them a misgiving conscience,
vhich often reproaches them, and fills them with
secret terrors, and a bitterness which their own heart
only knows. When Cain was under an arrest for
that threat debt he contracted by the murder of his
brother, what a terror was he to himself, crying out,
My punishment i» greater than lean bear,'^ though it
was much less than he deserved. When Herod
heard of Christ's miracles, he presently cried out,
his John the Baptist whom I beheaded, he is certainly
risen from the dead. The wicked are sometimes
made to flee where no fear is, much more where there
is fear.
(d.) Bad debtors are apt to be dilatory and deceit-
o EccL Ijl 18.
rHag.i. a.
p Jer. viii. &
• Matt zvill. 29.
3 p2
q Oen. ir. 13.
t Ps. 1. 31.
/«/, to promise payment this time and the other, but
still to break their word, and beg a further delay.
It is so with sinners ; they do not say they will never
repent, and return to God, but not yet: The time is
not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built,'
but they will assure you, that some time or other it
shall be built They are called to come to an ac-
count with their own consciences, to search and try
their ways ; and they are forward to promise that
they will do it ; nay, they will set the time when
they will do it The servant that owed ten thousand
talents thought he needed not be beholden to his
master for a pardon of the debt, only he begged for-
bearance : Have patience with me and I will pay thee
all,* They shake off their convictions, and elude
them, by shifting off the prosecution of them, like
Felix, to a more convenient season, which season
never comes ; and so they are cozened of all their
time, by being cozened of the present time.
4. To affect you the more with the misery of an
impenitent, unpardoned state, having showed you
what your debt is, I shall next lay before you the
danger we are in by reason of this debt Many who
owe a great deal of money, yet are furnished with
considerations sufficient to make them easy, but they
are such as our case will not admit.
(1.) Anexact account is kept of all our debts. Some
who are in debt please themselves with hopes that
their debts cannot be proved upon them, and so they
shall escape harm by them : but this will do us no
service ; all our sins will be proved upon us. These
things thou hast done ;* it is in vi^in to deny it, or to
avoid the action by pleading Non estfactutn — It is
not thy deed. If the debtor keep not an account of
his debts, yet the creditor does ; they are all booked,
all kept on record, laid up in store with God, and
sealed among his treasures.** Job speaks of his
transgressions as sewed up in a bag,* as the indict-
ments are upon which the prisoners are to be arraign-
ed ; or, as bonds and notes are carefully tied up
together to be produced when there is occasion. It
will be to no purpose to contest the account, when
the omniscience of God will attest it. Went not my
heart with thee ?^ says the prophet to his servant.
Was not God's eye upon us, when our backs were
upon him, and we were running from him into by-
paths ? Were not all our ways, our sinful ways, ever
before him ? They were, without doubt they were ;
but therefore sinners are secure, and see not their
danger, because (says God) they consider not in
their heart that I retnember all their wickedness,^ But
consider this, ye who forget God,r and his goodness,
that God does not forget you and your wickedness.
Our sins are never cast behind his backy till we have
set them before our faces,
(3.) We are utterly insolvent, and have not where-
a Dent xxadi. 34.
s Hoft vii. 8.
Job It. 17.
V 2 Kings ▼. 2&
7 Pa. 1. 22.
804
A SERMON ON
withal to pay our debts. If a man be mach in debt,
yet if he knows be has wherewithal to answer all his
creditors, he needs not mach perplex himself, especi-
ally, if he can discount with his creditors themselyes :
and there are those who flatter themseWes with a
conceit, that this will help them in their dealing
with God. For being ignorant of his righteoasness,
of the strictness of the demands of his justice, they
go about to establish a righteousness ■ of their own,
and are willing to hope that their good qualities,
and their good deeds, will atone for their bad ones,
and be a competent satisfaction to the demands of
divine justice. Thus it is common for foolish debtors
to talk big, as if they had wherewithal to give every
body their own, and nobody should lose by them,
when, perhaps, their all is nothing, or next to no-
thing. Laodicea thought herself rich and increased
in goods, when she was wretchedly and miserably
poor and naked,* but withal blind, and would not
see.
But what good will it do us thus to deceive our-
selves ? Can the all-seeing God be deceived ? It is
certain we owe more than we are worth ; whether
our debt be more or less, five hundred pence, or
fifty, we are not able to pay it.'* We cannot plead
that we have, by any 3ervices to God, or sufferings
for him, made satisfaction for any part of our debts ;
nor can we promise that we will ; for whatever good
there is in us, it is God's own gift, it is his own
work, for which we are yet more indebted to him.
Whatever good is done by us, it is what we are
already bound to. And though a tenant should pay
his rent for the future, yet that will not discharge
his old scores. We are become bankrupts, must own
ourselves so, and for ever undone, if the debt we
owe be exacted ; for if God enter into judgment
with us, and deal with us in strict justice according
to our deserts, we are not able to answer him for one
of a thousand ,^ In thy sight. Lord, shall no flesh living
be justified. We have no oil to sell, as the prophet's
widow had, wherewith to pay our debt ; no equiva-
lent to offer, nor any thing wherewith to make a
composition. We are debtors to God, but he is no
debtor to us, nor is he ever behind-hand with those
who do any service for him : none has first given to
him, that it should be recompensed to him again,
Rom. xi. 36. There were those indeed who thought
they had made God their debtor by their devotions.
Wherefore have we fasted, say Mey , and thou seest not V^
But when the matter comes to be looked into, it ap-
pears that they are debtors to God, by reason of the
wickedness of their conversations : Ye fast for strife
and debate.
(3.) We have no friend on earth who can or will
pass his word for us, or be our bail. Many poor
debtors encourage themselves with this, that they
I Rom. s. a • Rev. Hi. 17. b Luke vii. 41,49. • Jobiz. 3.
d Isa. Iviit 3, 4. F 1 Pet i. 18. r AcU yiii. to.
have some kind relations, who will stand by ihem^
and appear for them, and help them in a time of
need : but poor sinful men can have no such pros-
pect, since all their kindred are in the same helpless
condition with themselves, a^deep in debt as they
are. The wealthiest worldlings, who have most
money, cannot with it undertake to pay our debts
to God: no, we are not redeemed with corruptible
things, as silver and gold.* Pardons are those gifts
of God, which are not to be purchased with money
in the court of heaYen ; ^ those, therefore, that are so
purchased in the court of Rome, are but sham par-
dons ; even those who boast themselves in the multi-
tude of their riches, yet none of them can by any
means redeem his brother.' The wisest virgins, who
have most grace, have most oil, yet have none to
spare, there is not enough for us and them. If God
contend with us, no man on earth, or angels in
heaven, can undertake to arbitrate the matter, or as
a Days-man, lay his hand upon us both ; can under-
take to open the book by which we stand charged, or
to loose the seals ; none can do it but the Lion of the
tribe of Judah.^
(4.) We are often put in mind of our debts by the
providence of God, and by our own consciences.
Some who are in debt hope to have benefit by the
statute of limitations, and that the debt will be dropt
for want of being demanded ; but the debts we owe
to God are ever and anon demanded, and the right
is kept up by a continual claim, God makes it to
appear that he takes notice of them, for he frequently
gives us notice of them. Conscience is a standing
monitor in our own bosoms, to put us in mind of
our sins, and of the danger we are in by reason of
them, and to stir us up to think of agreeing with oar
adversary in time. For this reason, they wbo re-
solve to go on in sin, and to have peace (such as it is)
though they go on, do all they can to stifle the sug-
gestions of their own consciences, and turn a deaf
ear to them ; as those who are in debt avoid them
by whom they are dunned, and keep out of tbeir
way. But sooner or later conscience will be heard,
and will force sinners to say, as Jawph*s brethren
did long after they had contracted the debt. We are
verily guilty concerning our brother.^
Aflltctions are messengers sent to us on this er-
rand, to remind us of our debts, by awaking our con-
sciences, and setting our sins in order before as :
when bitter things were written against us, it is with
this design, to make us possess our iniquities.'
When God distrains upon our comforts, and removes
them from us, it is to remind us of the arrears of our;
rent. Art thou come to call my sin to my remembrance^^
(said the widow of Sarepta,) and to slay my son *
These sharp methods, which God takes to pat as in
mind of our sins, are intimations how severe the
r Pa. zlix. S, 7.
k Gen. xti. 31.
k Job ix. 33.
1 Job ziU< S&
i Rev. ▼. &.
1 Kings xvii la.
FORGIVENESS OF SIN.
805
nekoniDs^ will be, if we never take care to get them
pardoned.
(5.) Death will shortly arrest us for these debts, to
bring as to an account. It is a sergeant, whose
office is to require the soal, to strip it of the body,
and to bring it to him who gave it, and to whom it is
accoantable. The authority of this officer is not to
be disputed, nor his power resisted. When we are
sammoned by death to come to an account, we shall
find there is no discharge in that war," no remedy,
bat we must yield. The wages of sin is death,^ and
its constant attendant ever since it first entered.^
Death in our discharge from other debts; in the
^ve the prisoners rest together, and hear not the
voice of the oppressor,** but it lays us more open than
ever to these debts, for " Afier death the judgment.*'
It is a maxim in oar law. Actio moritur cum personSt
--The action dies with the person ; but it will be of
DO ose to us in this case, for God, the creditor, never
dies, and sinners, the debtors, are by death fetched
in to appear before him.
(6.) A dag ofrechoning will come, and the day is
fixed. As sure as we see this day, we shall see that
day, when every man must give an account of him-
self unto God,' ttnd etery worh shall be brought into
jvdgmenty with every secret thing,* The young man
who indulges himself in carnal mirth and sensual
pleasures, is told that for all these things God shaU
hing him into judgment.^ Though it is after a long
time, yet it is in the set time, that the Lord of the
servants, to whom the talents were committed, comes
and reckons with them." The God to whom we
gtand indebted, is one with whom we now have to
do ;* for we live upon him, and subsist by him, and
have continual business with him, which should
make it the more uneasy to us to think of lying
under his displeasure. But that is not all, he is one
irpoc ov i7fuv o Xoyoc (as some read those words) — to
vkom for us there is a reehoning ; we now have an
account with him, and must shortly give up our ac-
coant to him. How careful should we be so to
jodge ourselves, that we may not be judged of the
Lord ;* so to state our accounts, and halance them
with the blood of Christ, that when the day of
reckoning comes, we may give up our account with
joy, and not with grief !'
(7.) Hell is the prison into which those debtors
will at length be cast, who took no care to make their
peace, and there are the tormentors to which they
will be delivered.^ This our Saviour gives as a
reason why we should agree vrith onr adversary
qoickly, while we are in the way, because, if the
matter be left to run on, we shall be delivered to the
jadge, to the ofilcer,* to him who has the power of
death ; and so be cast into prison, into chains of
ierknees, a prison, the miseries of which are endless
> EocL viii. & • Rom. vi. S3, p Rom. v. 13. q Job iii. 1&
r Som. xiv. 19. • £ccL zil. 14. t Eccl. zi. 9.
and easeless. It b a pit in which there is no water,
not the least mixture or allay of comfort, not a drop
of water, so much as to cool the tongue.* Some
prisoners for debt live so merrily, that one would
think their prisons were designed for their protec-
tion rather than their punishment ; but hell is no
such prison ; there is nothing there but weeping, and
wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and the more for the
many fair warnings given those prisoners not to
come into that place of torment It is a pit out of
which there is no redemption ; the debtor shall not de-
part thence till he has paid the last mite ; which vrill
never be, no, not during the endless ages of eternity.
And now, sirs, what say you to these things ? You
are many of you great dealers in the world ; what a
consternation would you be in, if upon casting up
your books, you should discover yourselves to be in
debt a great deal more than yon are worth ? You see
yon are so to God, and does it make no impression
upon you? are you in no care, no concern about it ?
Is all I have said to you for your conviction of sin,
and of your misery and danger because of sin, but
as a tale that is told ? If so, all I have to say con-
cerning the pardon of sin, will be but as a lovely song
of one that can play well on an instrument. But I
trust you have laid, and will lay, these things to heart,
that the debt of sin is really a burthen to you, under
which you labour, and are heavy laden ; and if so,
the doctrine of the remission of sins will be to you
glad tidings of great joy, and as life from the dead.
Nor would I have taken this pains to show you your
sins, if your case had been desperate, and I could
not at the same time have showed yon the great sal-
vation from sin, which the Redeemer has wrought
out by bringing in an everlasting righteousness.
II. The sins we are to repent of, being our debts to
God, the mercy we are to pray for is the forgiveness of
these debts. It is to God we are indebted, and there-
fore to him we must address ourselves for a dis-
charge from the debt ; for none can forgive sins, but
God only, and therefore to him only must we go for
that forgiveness. Having opened the wound, and
showed you how dangerous it is, you vrill be ready
to ask, It there no halm in Gilead? Is there no phy-
sician there? Yes, blessed be God, there is. The
same messengers that God sends to put you in mind
of your debts, are appointed to put you in the way of
obtaining the remission of them : and this is that
which, in Christ's name, is preached to all nations ;
— it is now preached to you.
1. Let us inquire, what is included in this mercy of
the forgiveness of sin as a debt, and what steps
God graciously takes therein toward us, when we
repent, and return, and believe the gospel. He acts
as a merciful and compassionate creditor toward a
poor debtor who lies at his mercy.
« Matt. xxY. 19. r Heb. 1 v. 31 . w i Cor. xi. 31 . * Heb. xitL 17.
r Matt zviii. 34. i Matt. v. 95. • Luke xvl. 34.
806
A SERMON ON
(1.) He stays process, and saffera not tbe law to
have its coarse. Judgement is ^ven against us;
bnt execution is not taken oat upon the judgment.
The sinner is arrested by his own conscience as a
debtor, and cried out against himself, / have tinned,
and deserve to die. But pardoning mercy unties
the knot between sin and death, and says, as Nathan
to David, The Lord has taken away thy sin, thou f halt
not die ;^ thou shalt not come into condemnation,
thine iniquity is become thy grief and shame, and
therefore fear not, it shall not be thy ruin. Thou
shalt not have all thou hast seized on, thou shalt not
go to prison, as thou deservest The debt shall not
be laid to thy charge.
The sinner is arrested by affliction, it may be, as
Elihu's penitent is, and is alarmed by it to expect
a much sorer punishment; He is chastened with pain
upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong
pain f and then, under the sense of guilt and dread
of wrath, counts upon nothing else but that his life
shall go to the destroyers.*' But he has a friend with
At'jN, an interpreter, one among a thousand,^ who
shows him God's uprightness ; his hatred of sin ;
and yet his readiness to pardon sinners. This be
begins to give heed to, and take hold of, and thinks
of returning to God, as the prodigal to his father's
house; and then he is gracious to him;' meets
him in his jeturn, and says. Deliver him from
going down to the pit ; let him be discharged from
these pains, from these terrors, for / have found
a ransom, a ransom for the soul. The sinner has
said unto God, Do not condemn me;t and God has
said, There is no condemnation to them that are in
Christ Jesiu.^ They in their repentings condemn
themselves ; men in their reproaches condemn them ;
and it cannot be denied, but that there is that in them
which deserves condemnation. But it is God that
iustijies, and then who is he that shall condemn?
Christ died, and therefore the believer shall not : he
is afflicted and chastened of the Lord, but he shall
not be condemned with the world,' that lies under
the curse.
Well, this is a good step toward the forgiving of
the debt ; now there begins to be hope in Israel con-
cerning this thing ; herein appears the divine pity
and compassion, God's slowness to anger, and
readiness to show mercy ; and this long-suffering of
the Lord is salvation.'^ But the proceedings may per-
haps be stopt for the present, and yet may be revived
another time; a judgment that has long lain dor-
mant may come against a man when he least thinks
of it, and therefore God in forgiving these debts
goes farther ; for,
(2.) He cancels the ^luf, vacates the judgment,
and disannuls the hand-writing that was against us,
b2Sam. xli.13. sJobxxxiii. 19. dJobxxxiii.22. • Job zxziil. 23.
f Job xxxiil. 34. fr Job x.2. h Rom. viii. I. 1 1 Cor. xi. 32.
k 9 Pet iii. IS. 1 Col. ii. U. m Heb. viil. 13.
that was contrary to us, and takes it out of the
way.' He pardons sin thoroughly and fully, so as to
remember it no more " ag^nst the sinner. He casts
it behind his back," as that which he is determined
never more to inquire after ; casts it into tbe depths
of the sea,** as that which shall never more appear or
come to light, as it might at low water, if it were
cast near the shore side. The iniquity of Jacob
shall be sought for and not be found :p therefore
God is said to blot out^ tbe iniquities of poor peni-
tents, as the memorandum of a debt is blotted oat
when it is paid or pardoned ; he not only crosses the
book, which leaves it legible, but blots it out, not to
be read ; for so is the promise to a true penitent. All
his transgressions that he hath committed shall not be
mentioned unto him,^ he shall not be so much as up-
braided with them. It is blotted out as a cloud, as a
thick cloud, by the heat of the sun ; it is vanishetf,
and there appears not the least remainder of it;
The transgression is removed from the transgressors
as far as the east is from the west* These and many
the like expressions, give us abundant assurance
that the sin once pardoned shall not rise up in judg-
ment against the sinner another day ; and give us
abundant occasion to say, Who is a God like unto thee,
pardoning iniquity ?
Well, this secures the life, and happiness, and
eternal welfare of the penitent believer: but still be
may want present comfort. The bond may be can-
celled, and he not know it ; the sentence of absola-
tion passed, and yet he not hear the voice of joy and
gladness ;* so that the broken bones are still com-
plaining: therefore God is pleased many times to
carry this act of grace on yet further.
(3.) He {pves an acquittance, and delivers it by his
Spirit into the believer's hand, speaking peace to
him, filling him with comfort, arising from a sense
of his justification, and the blessed tokens and
pledges of it When he says. Son, daughter, be of
good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee ;■ (as be spake
comfortably unto Zion, saying. Thy warfare is ac-
complished, thine iniquity is pardoned ;^) then be
gives up the bond cancelled, to the unspeakable
satisfaction of the penitent We read of a woman
who had been a sinner, a notorious sinner, who, upon
her repentance, had much forgiven her, and showed
it by her loving much ;* yet afterwards Christ not
only said of her, Her sins whick are many are for-
given, but turned and said to her. Thy sins are for-
given thee, and. Thy faith hath saved thee, to set forth
this further act of divine favour, in causing as to
hear God's loving-kindness, and to taste that he is i
gracious.
Well, blessed, thrice blessed are they whose
iniquities are thus forgiven, and to whom they are
n In. xxxvili. 17. • Mic. vii. 10. p Jer. f.3a ,
qlaa-xliii. 36. r Euk. xviil. 23. • P9.ciii..l2. tPs.1i. a
u Matt. ix. 3l r Isa. xl. 3. w Luke v)i. 47, 4&
FORGIVENESS OF SIN.
807
not imputed ; who by their own experience of the
breaking of the power of sin in them, are made to
know that the guilt of sin is removed ; and to whom
it appears, by their being reconciled to God, and to
bis whole will, that God is in Christ reconciled to
them. But may it be hoped that these criminals
shall not only be pardoned, but preferred* and made
faTOurites again ? Yes, to complete the mercy, he
not only forgives the debts we have contracted, but,
(4.) He condescends to deal with us again, audio
admit us into covenant and communion with him-
self. Tboqgh we have g^ne behind-hand in our
rent, he remits the arrears, and continues us his
tenants; though we have buried and wasted our
talents, yet he continues us in his service, and in-
trusts us with more. Those we have been great
losen by, though we may forgive them, yet we do
not forget them, nor care for trusting them again.
But in this, as in other things, the God with whom we
have to do, is Gikl and not man ; heforgivei and/br-
geu, and yet will be no loser in his glory by forgiving.
Lord ! what is man, that he should be thus regard-
ed? that he should not only be delivered from going
down to the pit, bgt that his life should see the
light,' the eternal light, and the paths that lead to it.
When we pray that God would forgive us our debts,
we pray not only that we may not be rejected, but
that we may be accepted in the Beloved, according
to the riches of that grace wherein he has abounded
toward us ;7 that with the remission of sins, we may
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,' the earnest of
the Spirit, and tkat, at length, which it is the earnest
of, even an inheritance among all them who are
sanctified ; for whom he justified them he glorified.
2. Having seen how much is included in God's
forgiving us our debts, because it is so great a favour,
that we may be tempted to think it too much for
sacb worthless unworthy creatures as we are to
expect, let us next inquire, what ground we have to
hope for it: how is it that a God infinitely just and
holy, should be thus readily reconciled to a g^iilty
and polluted sinner upon bis repenting ? If we owe
a great sum of money to a man like ourselves, we
could not have the face to go to him, and desire
him to remit it, when we have not wherewithal to
make any composition with him. Why should not
a just debt be paid ? and if nothing is to be had,
why should not the debtor be sold,* currat lex —
ond the law take its eourte ? What reason have we to
expect that the lawful captive should be delivered 1^
Blessed be God we may expect it, we may be sure
of it, if we tepent and believe the gospel.
(1.) We may ground our expectations upon the
goodness of his nature. This is so much his glory,
that by it he has proclaimed his name not only gra-
rious and merciful in general, but in this particular
s Job xxxiii. SS.
« IflL xlix. 34.
7 Epb. i. 6, 7. t AcU ii. 36. • Matt xviii. 35.
e Ezek. xxziT. 6^7. d Matt, xviii. 37. I
instance, so that he forgives iniquity, transgression,
and sin f and therefore pardons the sin, because he
desires not nor delights in the ruin of the sinner.
How vast were the compassions of that prince in
the parable, which moved him to forgive so great a
debt, as that of ten thousand talents \^ And yet, as
heaven is high above the earth, so do the divine
compassions exceed those : Israel of old found them
so, when their transgressions were so very numerous,
so very heinous ; yet he being full of compassion,
forgave their iniquity. Merciful men will some-
times lend, hoping for nothing again; and where
nothing is to be had, will not be rigorous nor extreme
in demanding their right : and shall not the Father
of mercies take pity on the miserable ? He who is
good, and therefore ready to forgive ; merciful and
gracious,* and therefore removes our transgressions
from us as far as the east is from the west.^ He is
a God with whom that plea is of force, What ftrojlt
is there in my blood? And whose soul was g^eved
for the misery of Israel, s though they brought it upon
themselves by' their own sin and folly.
Well, it is true that God is infinitely good, and
we have abundant reason to hope in his mercy, and
abundant encouragement to plead it with him ; but
it is as true that he is just and righteous, that he is
the great Governor of the world, and the honour of
his government must be maintained ; his injured
justice calls for satisfaction, and one attribute of his
shall not be glorified by the damage and reproach
of another. It is true, he is merciful, and yet there
is a world of angels who lie, and are like to lie for
ever, under the pouring out of the full vials of his
wrath ; and therefore, though his goodness and mercy,
as it is revealed to us in the Scripture, is our great
encouragement, yet,
(2.) We are to ground our expectations upon the
mediation of our Lord Jesus. Therefore God forgives
our debt, because Jesus Christ, by the blood of his
cross, has made satisfaction for it, and given his life
a ransom for ours : which is so far from lessening
the freeness of that grace which forgives us, that it
greatly magnifies it, for it was he himself who found
the ransom,** it was he himself who gave his Son to
be a propitiation for our sins.* And herein more than
in any thing he commended his love,'' that he would
not only forgive our debt, but put himself to such
vast expense of blood and treasure, that he might
do it so as to secure, nay to declare, his righteous-
ness ; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness ;
(such an emphasis does the apostle lay upon this ;) that
he might be not only merciful but just, and the justi-
fier of them who believe in Jesus.^ If sinners are
debtors, it is Christ who is their surety, upon the
account of whose satisfaction their debt is forgiven :
Christ is called the surety of the covenant ;^ not that
e Ps. Ixxxvi. A. f Ps. ciii. 8, 12. rJudg.x. 16. h Job xxxiii. 34.
i 1 John iv. 10. k Rom. v. 8. 1 Rom. iii. 25, 80. » Heb. vii. 23.
808
A SERMON ON
he was originally bound in the bond with us, as if
it were implied in the penalty annexed to the coTe-
nant of innocency, which was, Thou thaU surely die,
that is, ihou or thy surety. No, Christ's undertak-
ing supposes us already debtors, and under arrest
for the debt ; so that Christ comes in rather as bail
to the action, than as a secondary undertaker from
the beginning. His office as mediator takes it for
granted, that God and man are at variance, for a
mediator is not of one ;■» we are looked upon as under
the law, that is, under the curse, when Christ to
redeem us makes himself sin and a curse for us.»
Let us see how this is done.
[1.] Our Lord Jesus Tolnntarily undertook to be
a surety for us : pitying our deplorable case, and
concerned for his Father's injured honour, that divine
justice might be satisfied, and yet sinners saved,
he offered to make his own soul a sacrifice for sin,
and himself a propitiation, answering the demands
of the law, as the propitiatory, or mercy-seat, exact-
ly answered the dimensions of the ark. The Father
intrusted him with this great piece of service, and
he voluntarily and cheerfully consented to it: he
said, Lo, 1 come, and not only did this vrill of God,
but delighted to do it ;p drawn to it, and held to it,
with no other cords but those of his own love, and
the agreeableness of his undertaking to his Father's
commandment
Christ had no debt of his own to pay, for he al-
ways did those things that pleased his Father. Such
was the dignity of his person, and such the value of
the price he paid, that he had wherewithal to make
full satisfaction, and to pay this debt, even to the
last mite. He said. Upon me he the curse, my Fa-
ther. Thus he became bound for us, as Paul for
Onesimus to Philemon his master : If he have
wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, I Paul have writ-
ten it with my own hand, the blessed Jesus has writ-
ten it with his own blood, / will repay it.^ And
this undertaking of Christ's shall redound more to
the glory of God, eyen to the glory of his justice,
than the damnation of these sinners would have
done ; for if they had perished, the righteousness of
God would have been, to eternity, but in the satirfy-
ing ; but now, by the merit of Christ's death, it is
once for all satisfied, and reconciliation made for ini-
quity. Thus he restored that which he tooh not away.'
Let us pause a little, and think with wonder and
thankfulness of this glorious undertaking. How
great was that kindness and love of God our Savi-
our towards man, which set this work going I How
admirable the wisdom that contrived it ! The wis-
dom of God in a mystery.* Let every crown be
thfown at the Redeemer's feet, and every song sung
to his praise. Who is this that engageth his heart to
n Gal. iii.20. e QfU. ill 10, la p Pb. xl. 7. q Phil. 18. 19.
r Ps. Ixix. 4. • I Cor. ii. 7- t Jer. zxx. ai.
« IML liii. 1. T In. lilt. 12. » Isa. zl 2.
approach unio God,* as a surety for us ? It is he who
speaks in righteousness, and will never unsay what
he has said, for he is mighty to save," be is al-
mighty.
[2.] Having made himself a surety for us, he made
full satisfaction to divine justice for our debt, by the
blood of his cross. He poured out his soul unto
death,' not only for our good, but in our stead ; and
paid, though not the idem — the same, that we should
have paid, yet the tantundem — the equivalent, that
which was more than equivalent ; so that in him God
might be said to have received double for all our
sins,* so much was the Father glorified in him.
God charged the debt upon him, according to his
undertaking. Those he undertook for being insolv-
ent, the action was brought against him ; and God
laid upon him the iniquity of us all ;' made it all to
meet upon him, (so the word is,) as the sins of all
Israel were made to meet upon the head of the goat,
that on the day of atonement was to be sent into a
land of forgetfulness.y Solomon says. He that is
surety for a stranger shall smart for it, shall be
broken by it : our Lord Jesus being surety for us
who were strangers and forcipiers, he smarted for
it ;* for it pleased the Lord to bruise him, and put
him to grief
He voluntarily and freely paid the debt ; his life
was not forced from him, but he laid it down of
himself.^ The satisfaction was to be made to God
in his HONOUR ; for in that he had been injured,
and to that he had an eye, when he said. Father,
glorify thy name,^ take the satisfaction that is de-
manded. And it was to be made by his death, for
without shedding of blood, that blood which is the
life, there was no remission ; and, therefore, he laid
down his life with these words. Father, into thy
hands I commit my spirit i^ that life, that soul, which
is to be given as a ransom for many, I here give to
thee ; I put it into thy hands, as the surety pays the
debt into the hands of the creditor, the proper per-
son to receive it.
[3.] The satisfaction which Christ made for oor
sins was graciously accepted, and God was so well
pleased in him,* as to be well pleased with us in
him. This was a further act of divine grace ; for in
strict justice it might have been insisted on, that the
law should have had its course against the sinners
themselves. Christ intimated, that pursuant to the
counsels of peace,' which were between the Father
and him, concerning man's redemption, his arrest
should be our discbarge, when he said to those who
seized him in the garden. If ye seek me, let these go
their way.% He delivered up himself to suffer and
die, that we might be delivered from wrath and ruin,
and divine justice agreed to it
s ISL liii. 6. y Lev. xvi.si. « Prov. xi. 15. • In. liil. 10.
b John X. 18. e John xli. 98. d Luke xxiii. 4S.
• Matt xTii. 5. f Zech. vi. I3l r John xviii. &
FORGIVENESS OF SIN.
809
In token of the acceptance of his satisfaction, God
raised him from the dead, sent an angel to roll away
the stone from the door of the sepulchre, and so to
release the prisoner; which he did, and then sat
upon it^ in triumph, signifying that then death had
no more dominion over him, but was perfectly con-
quered and abolished. But are we certain that he
had a fair discharge? Yes, for he was often seen
alive, seen at liberty, and the Father having raised
him from the dead, set him at his own right hand,
which would have been no place for him, if he had
not fully made good his undertaking. Christ's death
beio^ the payment of our debt, for he was delivered
for oar offences, his resurrection was the taking out
of oar acquittance, for he rose again for our justifi-
cation.i Therefore the apostle lays the stress of our
faith, hope, and comfort upon this. Who is he that
shall condemn? Who can take out an execution
against us ? It is Christ that died, yea^ rather, that is
risen again :^ by which it appears that his dying for
as was accepted, especially since he now is even at
the right hand of God making intercession in the
virtue of his satisfaction ; and it is an effectual in-
tercession, for the Father hears him always.
[4.] The satisfaction being accepted, a release of
debts is published and proclaimed in the everlasting
gospel to all penitent and obedient believers. Full
assurance is given them that their sins shall be par-
doned, and they shall be made accepted in the Be-
loved. The preaching of the gospel is called the
proclaiming of the acceptable year of the Lord,^ in
allasion to the year of release, which was every
seventh ; and, especially, to the year of jubilee,
which was every fiftieth ;* when all debts were dis-
charged, mortgaged possessions restored, and all en-
cumbrances on men's estates taken off. And this
was proclaimed by sound of trumpet in the evening
of the day of atonement, to signify, that upon the
account of the atonement which Christ was to make,
poor sinners should be delivered from that wrath and
corse to which they were bound over, and brought
into the glorious liberty of God's children, and re-
stored to all the glorious privileges and inheritances
of free-born Israelites. Blessed is the people that hear
this joyful sound,* the trumpet of the everlasting gos-
pel publishing this release, this act of indemnity,
liberty to the captives j and the opening of the prison
to them that were bound.
These glad tidings of great joy are to be brought
to all people ; whoever will come and take the benefit
of this general release, and sue out a particular dis-
charge upon it, on very easy and unexceptionable
terms ; for the gospel excludes none, who do not by
their own wilful impenitence and unbelief exclude
themselves. Nay, we have not only this discharge
offered us, but we are courted, and earnestly invited,
h Matt, nviii. 3. i Rom. !▼. SS. k Rom. tUI. 34. t Luke iv. 19.
m Lev. », 9, 10. a Pb. luxix. lAb o 3 Cor. V. 19, 30.
to come in and accept of it. God having in Christ
laid a foundation for the reconciling the world unto
himself, has sent his ambassadors, not only to pro-
pose the matter to us, but to beseech us, nay, God
does by them beseech us to be reconciled to God,*
though it had better become us to beseech him first
to be reconciled to us.
[5.] It is upon the account of Christ's satisfaction,
that our sins are actually pardoned upon our repent-
ing and believing ; and that is it which we are to
plead with God, and to rely upon as a valid plea in
our prayers to God for the forgiveness of our debts.
In his righteousness we must appear before God ;
making mention of that, even of that only, and not
thinking to justify ourselves.P It is through his blood
that we have redemption, even the remission of sins,4
for that is it which, having been shed for us without
the city, speaks for us vdthin the veil, and speaks
better things than that of Abel ;'' and he still appears
in the midst of the throne, a Lamb as it had been slain,*
newly slain, and bleeding afresh, to intimate the
constant perpetual virtue of his satisfaction, and the
continual advantage which believers have and may
have by it.
In praying for the forgiveness of our sins, we must
have an eye to Christ as our Redeemer; the Re-
deemer of our persons that were in bondage, and of
our inheritance which was in mortgage. He is our
Goel; Job calls him so, and the prophets often : it
is the title of the next hinsman ; who by the law was
to redeem the possession which his brother sold.^
Christ having taken our nature upon him, is become
our kinsman, and he is the next kinsman who is
able to redeem, so that to him the right of redemption
does belong : and he has graciously condescended
to do the kinsman's part ; so that we return to our
inheritance again, from which we had other¥rise
been for ever banished ; and have the earnest of it
until the complete redemption of the purchased pos-
session." We must also in a particular manner have
an eye to his death as our ransom : for the sake of
which we are delivered from going down to the pit.^
Very fitly therefore is that sacrament which is the
memorial of his death, made the seal of our par-
don.
3. Having showed you how sad your case is
upon the account of sin, and what a dangerous debt
it is ; and yet that your case is not desperate, but
there is hope for you through grace, I promise my-
self, you will now be willing and glad to hear, what is
expected and required from you, that you may obtain
this favour, and that your debts may be forgiven.
Christ, as a surety for us, has made satisfaction ; but
what must we do that we may have an interest in
that satisfaction ? It is true that atonement is made
for sin, and is accepted as sufficient to gpround a
P Ps. IxxL 16. q Eph. i. 7. r Heb. xil. 34. ■ Rev. ▼. &
t Lev. xzT. 35. « Eph. 1. 14. ▼ Job zzxlil. 94.
810
A SERMON ON
treaty of peace upon ; and yet it is as true, that
multitudes perish eternally under the load of this
debt, and continue in their captivity, notwithstand-
ing the proclamation of liberty. It therefore con-
cerns us all to see to it, that we be duly qualified,
according to the tenor of the new covenant, for the
comforts of a sealed pardon and a settled peace ;
and that we may be so,
(I.) We must eonftis the debt, with a humble,
lowly, penitent, and obedient heart. We must own
ourselves guilty before God, and concluded under
sin. Let not those expect to prosper, or recover
themselves from under this load, who cover their
sins, for they, and they only, who confess and forsake
them, shall find mercy." We arc charged as debtors,
and must not go about to deny the debt, no, nor to
excuse or extenuate it ; but be ready to acknowledge
that we have sinned, and have perverted that which
was right, and it profited us not ;» that we have been
both unjust to God and injurious to ourselves, as
debtors are.
In confessing the debt we must be particular;
must not only own that we are sinners, but, in this
and the other instance, we have sinned ; not for in-
formation to God, he knows our sins better than we
ourselves know them, but for humiliation and warn-
ing to ourselves. / have tinned, (says David,) and
have done this evil J I have sinned, (says Achan,) and
thus and thus have I done.* And the more particu-
lar we are in the acknowledgment of sin, the more
comfort we may expect to have in the sense of the
pardon. If I can say, '' This sin I confessed ; I
trust, through grace, this sin is pardoned, and shall
not be laid to my charge. But then this confession
of sin must be accompanied with true remorse and
godly sorrow for it ; we must bewail it, and bemoan
ourselves because of it ; must give glory to God, and
take shame to ourselves in making this confession :
And as the prodigal when we own we have sinned
against God, we must own, that we are no more
worthy to be called his children ; nay, that it were
a righteous thing with him to deliver us to the tor-
mentors. And if we thus judge ourselves, we shall
not be judged.
(2.) We must achnowledge a judgment of all we
have to our Lord Jesus, who has been thus kind to
satisfy for our debt. This is one proper act of faith.
To resign, surrender, and give up ourselves, our
whole selves, body, soul, and spirit; all we are,
have, and can do ; to be under the direction and
government of his word and Spirit, to be devoted to
his honour, employed in his service, and disposed of
at his will. Our own selves we must give unto the
Lord,* and to us to live must be Christ : our all
must be put into his hands, must be laid at his feet.
It is indeed a very poor counter-security, but such
w Prov. xxviii. 13. *. Job xzxiii. 37. j Ps. li. 4. s Josh. vii. 30.
• 2 Cor. viii. 5. b Luke i. 74, 7S. e Titus ii. 14
as it is he requires it, and is pleased to accept of it,
provided we be sincere and faithful in the sur^
render.
There is good reason why we should do this ; for
therefore he delivered us out of the hands of our
enemies, that we might serve him ;^ therefore re-
deemed us, that we might be to him a peculiar
people, purijied from sinful works, and zealous oj
good works. ^ Nor can we do better for ourselves,
than to give up ourselves entirely to Christ ; we are
never more our own, than when we are wholly his.
If we resign ourselves to him, it is in trust for the
securing of ourselves, and our own true welfare,
that we may not again be our own ruin. Thus will he
complete his kindness to us, if it be not our own
fault : he who was our surety to save us from pe-
rishing under the load of guilt we had contracted,
will be our trustee, to save us from faliini^ a$cain
under the like load ; for he has said, Sin shall not
have dominion over you.^ Thus will he perfect all
that which concerns us ;* and if we commit our-
selves and our all to him, we shall find he is able to
keep what we have committed unto him against that
day, and he will be found a faithful trustee.
(3.) We must give to Christ the honour of our par-
don, by relying entirely on his righteousness as our
plea for it ; acknowledging that other foundation of
hope can no man lay,' and other fountain of joy can
no man open. We must for ever disclaim all de-
pendence upon our own sufficiency, and with the
highest satisfaction rest upon Christ only as a com-
plete and all-sufficient Saviour. The great concerns
of our immortal souls, our reconciliation to God,
and our felicity in him, we must lodge in his hands,
by a submission not only to his government, as the
Lord our Ruler, but to his grace, as the Lord our
Righteousness, made of God to us righteousness, ^ that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him.^
For, thus, boasting is for ever excluded, and he that
glories must glory in the Lord.
(4.) We must study what we shall render to him
who has loved us, who has so loved us. Let us mention
it to his praise, take all occasions to speak of that
great love wherewith he loved us, in purchasing for
us the remission of that great debt. We cannot
expect an interest in Christ and his righteousness,
unless we be willing to own our obligations to him,
as those who are sensible the bonds he has loosed
us from * bind us closely and constantly to him,
(6.) We must engage ourselves for the future^ that
we will render to God the things that are his, and
be careful not to run in debt again. If we would
find mercy, we must not only confess our sins, but
forsake them, and keep close to the way of onr doty.
Ceasing to do evil, and learning to do well, are the
commanded fruits of repentance, and without those
4 Ps. cxxxviii. a
g 1 Cor. i. 30.
• 9 Tim. i. 13.
h 8 Cor. ▼. 31.
f I Cor. iii. 1 1.
* Ps. CXTi. 16.
FORGIVENESS OF SIN.
811
we cannot expect the promised fruits of it Has
God graciously remitted us our arrears, let us pay
oor rent more panctually for time to come. Every
day is a rent day with us, and we most be careful,
by filling up time with duty, and doing the work of
every day in its day, to pay our rent duly; and
wherein we come short, balance our accounts with
the blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin,*' by
a renewed application of the virtue of that to our
souls; and thus keep touch with him who is, and
ever will be, faithful to us. Have we wasted our
talents,! and so contracted debt, and yet are we still
intrttsted with them? Let us henceforth be more
diligent in the improvement of them, that by the
blessing and grace .of oor Master, our five talents
may be made other five, and we may have our Mas-
ter's approbation, and enter at length into his joy.
And let us always remember, that God speaks peace
to his people, and to his saints, on this condition,
that they do not return ag^n to folly.*"
(6.) Our forgiving others is made the indispensable
coodition of our being forgiven of God. Nothing
can be more express than this, If we forgive not men
their tregpatses^ neither will our Father who is in hea-
ven forgive us ours.^ For God will have his children
to be like him, merciful as he is merciful, and good
as he is, even to the evil and unthankful. That ser-
vant in the parable, who was rigorous in exacting a
small debt from his fellow-servant, by that instance
of the hardness of his heart made it to appear, that
he was never truly humbled for his own debt to his
Lord, that great debt, nor ever truly sensible of his
Lord's kindness to him in forgiving it ,* and there-
fore, his repentance being counterfeit, his pardon
was never ratified, but he was delivered to the tor-
mentors, as a wicked servant®
Let this consideration prevail to pacify the most
provoked, and mollify the most severe ; let it not only
suppress every root of bitterness in us, but extirpate
it and pluck it up : let us not harbour the least
tboa^bts of malice and revenge against those wbo
have been any way injurious tons, nor render to any
evil for evil, nor be extreme to mark what is done
amiss against as ; for what then shall we do, when
Gtf^ riseth up, and when he visiteth, what shall we
anncer him .'r
And now,(bretbrcn,) having very briefly and plainly
opened to you this great concern that lies between
>oa and God, I must leave it to you to make the
application of what has been said, each of you to
yourselves ; nay, I hope you have been applying it
as we have gone along ; for these are things of which
none of us can say. They belong not to us. Leave
it to you, did I say ? — I leave it with God by his Spi-
rit to apply it to all your consciences, that you may
be delivered into the mould of these great truths. I
V 1 Jdm 1. 7. 1 Matt. xxv. SO. m Pt. Ixxxv. S n Matt vi. 14, lA
• Matt xviii. 39, 34. p Job xxxi. 14. q Hag. i. 5.
shall therefore close only with a few words of ex*
hortation upon the whole matter.
1. Do not delay to come to an account with your
own consciences, but search diligently and impar-
tially, that you may see how matters stand between
you and God. Consider your ways,'* search and try
themJ Commune with your own hearts, saying, What
have I done ? What have I done amiss ? Take an
account of your debts to God, as all prudent trades-
men do of their debts to those with whom they deal.
Think how many the particulars are, how great the
sum total is, and what circumstances have enhanced
the debt, and run it op to a great height ; how ex^*
needing sinful your sins have been, how exceeding
hateful to God, and hurtful to yourselves. Put that
question to yourselves which the unjust steward put
to his lord's debtors. How much owest thou unto my
Lord? and tell the truth as they did, for themselves ;
and do not think to impose upon God, by making
the matter better than it is, as the steward did for
them, writing fifty for a hundred.*
2. Be thoroughly convinced of your misery and
danger by reason of sin ; see process ready to be
taken out against yon, and consider what is to be
done : it is no time to trifle, when all you have is
ready to be seized, and if the present season be
slipped, you know not how soon the things that be-
long to your peace may be for ever hid from your
eyes, and you will rue your carelessness when it is
too late to retrieve what you have lost by it.
3. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you
are in the way with him ;* make your peace with
God, and do it with all speed. You need not send
to desire conditions of peace,* they are ofiered to you,
if you will but accept of them ; and they are not
only easy but very advantageous. Take the advice
which Solomon gives to his son who is insnared in
suretyship. Do this, my son, that thou mayest deliver
thyself, go humble thyself, and thereby thou wilt not
only pacify an adversary, but make sure a friend :
and give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine
eyelids, till thou hast done this.^
4. In order to the making of your peace with God,
make sure your interest in Jesus Christ, and make
use of him daily for that purpose : retain him of
counsel for you in this great cause on which your
all depends, and let him be not only your plea but
your pleader, for that is his office ; If any man sin,
and so run into debt, we have an advocate with the
Father,^ who is ready to appear for us, and attends
continually to this very thing. Be advised by him,
as the client is by his counsel, and tiien refer your-
selves to him, put your case into his hand and say.
Thou shah answer, Lord, for me, when I have no-
thing to say for myself.
5. Renew your repentance every day for your sins
r Lani. lit 40.
Q Luke xiv. 33.
■ Luke xvt 5, 6.
y Ptov. vi. 3, 4.
t Matt V. 25.
w I John it I-
812
A SERMON ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN.
of dail J infirmity, and be earnest witb God in prayer
for the pardon of them. Hereby we give to God
the glory of his never- failing mercy, which abun-
dantly pardons ; and to Christ the glory of his inex-
haastible merit and grace ; and keep ourselves con-
tinually easy by leaving no guilt to lie upon the
conscience nnrepented of. '* Even reckonings (we
say) make long friends.'' And the more we are
humbled for our daily sins, and the more we see of
our obligation to Christ, and his merit, for the par-
don of them, the more watchful we shall be against
them, and the more careful to abstain from all ap-
pearances of evil, and approaches towards it.
Lastly, Let those to whom much is forgiven, love
much.* We have all of us much forgiven us, it is a
X Luke vii 48, 43.
yery great debt from which we have been discharged;
now it may be expected, that we should have our
hearts accordingly enlarged in gratitude to him who
Jhst loved us, who mo loved us, and gave himself for
us, loved us and washed us from our sins in his own
blood. How shall we express our love to him ? What
box of precious ointment shall we pour upon his
head ? What song of love shall we sing to his praise!
O that the love of Christ may constrain us? to love
him, and live to him, who loved us and died for ns;
to be faithful and constant in our love to him, who
having loved his own which were in the world, loveth
them unto the end,* and will love them all at length
into the world of everlasting love.
7 2 Cor. V. 14
« John xULl.
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED :
IN
A SERMON,
PREACHED AT THE TUESDAY LECTURE, AT SALTERS HALL,
JULY, 24th, 1711.
Psalm cxlvii. 11.
The Lord tmkeik pleasure in them that fear him, in
those that hope in hie mercy.
The dignity and privilege of the righteous, who are
God's favourites, here appear bright and blessed,
very blessed, very bright; and to an eye of faith,
the lustre of them far exceeds even that of crowns
aod coronets ; though their honour like their life is
hidden,* and, therefore, the world knows them not.^
What can prove them more great, what more happy,
thaa this, that the God of heaven tahee pleasure in
them?
That God should be at peace with any of the chil-
dreo of men, (that degenerate, guilty, and obnoxious
race,) is more than we could have expected, con-
sidering his justice and holiness ; but that he should
takt pleasure in them, should set them apart for
himself,^ gather them in his arms, carry them in
his bosom,*' value them as his peculiar treasure, and
make them up as his jewels;* this is that which
eternity itself will he little enough, and short enough,
to be spent in the thankful admiration of. Lord,
vket is man thai thou shouldst thus magnify him, and
ut thine heart upon him f
God takes pleasure in his saints, that is, in his
own image upon them : he rejoiceth in the worh of
kis own hands/ Not that God is capable of receiv-
ing any addition to the infinite complacency he takes
io himself, and in his own perfections, from any
creature; but thus he is pleased to express the
favour he bears to his chosen.^ He delights not in
tkt strength of a horse, (so it is said in the foregoing
verse,) he taheth not pleasure in the legs of a man,^
Princes and great men take delight in these, both
for their entertainment, they divert themselves with
horse races and foot races, and for their service, they
• Col. iii. 3.
* laa. xLll.
b 1 John fit. t.
e P«. iv. 3.
• Mat iii. 17.
make use of horse guards and foot guards, bring into
the field squadrons of horse and battalions of foot, and
review their troops with a great deal of satisfaction.
But does God do so ? No, he tahes pleasure in them that
fear him : he delights to behold the righteous ^^ delights
to converse with them, invites them into fellowship
with himself, and with them his secret is. He de-
lights to employ them, and makes them the instru-
ments of his glory : and herein he magnifies himself,
that he has pleasure in the prosperity of his servants,^
But the CHARACTER here given of God's favourites
is THAT for the sake of which I chose this text, and
which I shall speak more largely to. They are such
as both fear God, and hope in his mercy. The fear
of God I know is often put for all religion ; but it
being here distinguished from a hope in his mercy,
I choose rather to understand it in a more limited
sense, as signifying a dread of his majesty.
Fear and hope are passions of the mind so con-
trary the one to the other, that, with regard to the
same object, it is strange they should meet in the
same laudable character : yet here we see they do
so, and it is the praise of the same persons, that they
both fear God, and hope in him.
Whence we may gaUier this doctrine :
That in every concern that lies upon our hearts,
we should still endeavour to keep the balance
even between hope and fear.
We know how much the health of the body de-
l»ends upon a due temperament of the humours, such
as preserves any one from being predominant above
the rest ; and how much the safety and peace of the
nations result from a due balance of trade and power,
that no one grow too great for its neighbours : and,
so necessary is it to the health and welfare of our
souls, that there be a due proportion maintained be-
tween their powers and passions, and that the one
may always be a check upon the other, to keep it
f Pb. civ. 31. ff Pb. cvl. 4, 5. b Ps cxlvii. 10.
1 Pi. zi. 7. k Ps. xxxT. 27.
814
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
from ranning into extremes ; as in these affections
mentioned in the text. A holy fear of God must be
a check upon our hope, to keep that from swelling
into presumption ; and a pious hope in God must be
a check upon our fear, to keep that from sinking
into despondency.
This balance must, I say, by a wise and steady
hand, be kept even in every concern that lies upon
our hearts, and that we have thoughts about I shall
enumerate those that are of greatest importance.
We must keep up both hope and fear,
I. As to the concerns of our souls, and our spi-
ritual and eternal state.
II. As to our outward concerns, relating to the
body, and the life that now is.
III. As to the public concerns of the church of
God, and our own land and nation.
In reference to each of these, we must always
study and strive to support that affection, whether
it be hope or fear, which the present temper of our
minds and circumstances of our case make necessary
to preserve us from an extreme.
I. Nothing certainly does so much concern us, and
ought to lie so near our hearts, as the prosperity of
our souls, and their happiness in the favour of
God, and their fitness to serve him here, and enjoy
him for ever. This certainly ought to be the chief
and continual care of every man in this life, to ap-
prove himself to an eternal God above him, and to
prepare himself for an everlasting state before him.
This is the concern of the better part, and is of all
other the most weighty concern. Now, for the due
managing of this concern, it is requisite that we
take our work before us, and give each part of it its
place and due proportion, so as that one devout
affection may not intrench upon and exclude ano-
ther. As the beauty of God's being consists in the
harmony of his attributes, so the beauty of his
image on our souls consists in the harmony of our
graces, and the concurrence of them all to the main-
taining of our due subjection to God, and due
government of ourselves.
In eternity there is neither hope nor fear. In
heaven they are both lost in an endless fruition :
glorified saints, as they are for ever quiet from the
^ear of evil, and out of the reach of it, so they have
nothing more or better to hope for, than what they
are already entered into the enjoyment of; and
what a man sees, why doth he yet hope for ?^ In hell
they are both lost in an endless despair : they have
nothing to fear there, where they know the worst,
and must feel to eternity what they would not fear ;
nor have they any thing to hope for, when the door
of mercy is shut against them, and a great gulf
fixed between them and all blessedness, never to be
removed. But in our present state, there is and
1 Rom. viii. 94. m Ps. ci. 1. n Pa. Ixviii. 4, 5.
o laa. Ivil. 1^. p laa. Izvi. 1,2. q Ezod. xzxiv. 6, 7.
must be a mixture both of hope and fear ; and we
must keep up our communion with God, and do oor
duty to him by the seasonable exercises of bolb :
and thus we must sing both of mercy and judgment^
and sing unto God of both.i^
1. We must keep up both a holy dread of God^
and a humble delight in him; both a reverence of fa is
majesty, with a fear of incurring his displeasure,
and at the same time a joy in his love and grace,
and an entire complacency in his beauty and boanty,
and that benignity of his which is better than life.
Our affections toward God must correspond with
the discoveries he has made of himself to us. As be
has proclaimed his name for our instruction, so we
must proclaim it to his praise. Now in God there is
both every thing that is awful, and every thing tbat
is amiable ; and in his manifestations of himself he
seems to have taken a delight in putting these to-
gether, and setting the one over against the other.
When he makes him.self known in his greatness, as
riding on the heavens, by his name J AH, he adds, in
the next words, this instance of his goodness, that he
is a Father of the fatherless, and a Judge for the
widows.'* Is he the high and lofty One that inhabits
eternity, and dwells in the holy place ?• Yet we
must know that with this man he will dwell, to this
man he will look, that is of a contrite and humble
spiritP And on the other hand, when he tells as how
gracious he is in forgiving iniquity, transgression,
and sin,^ he tells us presently how just he is also,
that he will by no means clear the impenitently
guilty.
Thus, therefore, must we have an eye to him, both
as he is infinitely great, and greatly to be feared,
and as he is infinitely good, and greatly to be loved.
And as no love one degree short of perfect must c^ast
out all fear;' so no fear, in those who have received
the Spirit of adoption, must damp the delight which,
as children, we must have in our Father.^ We must
both fear God's name, and love it; both fear the
commandment, and love it. We must delight our-
selves always in the Lord ; and yet we mast make
him our fear and our dread,' and be in the fear of
him every day, and all the day long. In the duties
of religious worship, we must know our disparity ;
and in consideration of that we must serve him with
reverence and godly fear," because God, even our
God, though he be a rejoicing light to those w^ho
serve him faithfully, yet he is a consuming fire to
those who trifle with him: but we must also knovr our
privilege, and draw near to him in full assurance of
faith, and must serve the Lord with gladness.^
2. We must keep up both a trembling for sin, an>l
a triumphing in Christ, as the propitiation ybf sin.
We must be afraid of the curse, and the terrors of
it, and yet must rejoice in the covenant, and the
r 1 John 1v. 18. • Ps. xxxvii. 4. tlsa. viii. 13.
u Ueb. xii. 28. ▼ Hebu x. 22.
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
815
ncbes and graces of it. With one eye we mast look
at the fiery serpents, and see what danger we are in
by our hairing been stung by them ; but with the
other eye we most look up to the brazen serpent ■
lifted ap on the pole, and see what a fair way we
are in of being helped and healed by looking to it
Look unio me (saith Christ) and be ye Mated.
We mast not so look apon the comforts of the
pspel, as to forget the condemnation of the law,
and that we are guilty before God, and liable to that
condeoination : which we must be ever mindful of,
that we may daily reflect with regret upon sin, and
may be quickened to flee from the wrath to come,
and to flee for refuge to the hope set before us ; and
tiiat knowing the terrors of the Lord, we may be
persuaded to stand in awe and not sin. And yet
we must not so look upon the condemnation of the
law, as to forget that we are under grace, and not
under the law ;* and that we have a Redeemer to
rejoice in, and with an entire confidence to rely
upon, who died to save his people from their sins.
We mast look upon sin, and be humbled, and be
afraid of God's wrath ; but at the same time we must
look upon Christ, and be satisfied, and hope in his
mercy.
3. We must keep up both ajealouty of ourselve»,
and of our own sincerity ; and a gratrfnl thankful
sense of GotiTi grace in «#, and the workings of that
grace. It is true, the heart of man is deceitful
above all things,' and in nothing more so than in its
jadgment of itself. We are all apt to be partial in
our own favours ; to say we are rich and increased
vitk goods, when we do not know, or will not own,
that we are wretched and miserable.^ We have
therefore reason to fear lest we should be mistaken,
lest our graces should prove counterfeit, and we
should be rejected as hypocrites at last And O
that those who live a carnal, worldly, sensual life,
under the disguise of a religious profession, were
awakened to see their mistake before the flames of
hell awaken them ! O that fearful ness would sur-
prise those who, indeed, are hypocrites ; and that
the sinners in Zion were afraid ; and that their Tain
hopes, which are built upon the sand, might be taken
down before they are thrown down !
But let not those who fear the Lord, and obey the
voice of his servant, walk in darkness, but trust in
the name of the Lord, and stay themselves upon
their God.' Let not those who, through grace, are
brought to prefer the favour of God before the smiles
of the world, and are more in care about the things
that relate to the soul and eternity, than about those
that have reference only to the body and time ; let
not their godly jealousy over themselves run into an
extreme. Let them not be upon all occasions ar-
raigning their evidences, and questioning. Is the
m Jobo ill. 14.
n Rev. fii. 17.
• Rom. vi. 14.
r ba. 1. to.
p Jer. xTii. 0.
• laa. 11. 13.
Lord among ifi, or is he not ? Hearken to this, you
that tremble at God's word, and are fearing contin-
ually every day.* How can you say you do not
love God, when yon cannot but say that you would
not for all the world wilfully ofiend him, and that
there is nothing you desire so much as to be in his
favour, and in communion with him ? And there-
fore, though you have no reason to trust in your own
merit, yet you have a great deal of reason to hope
in that mercy of God, which accepts the willingness
of the spirit, and overlooks the weakness of the
flesh.' Why should you wrong yourselves by bear-
ing false witness against yourselves; as they do
who make themselves poor, and yet have great
riches ?" And why should you wrong God, by rob-
bing him of the honour of what he has wrought for
you ? It is true, we must not be proud of our graces,
but we must be thankful for them ; we must not
pretend to justify ourselves to the covenant of inno-
cency, for we are not innocent ; yet we must not
therefore reject the advantages of the covenant of
grace, nor put from us the comforts that thence flow.
4. We must keep up both a constant caution over
our goingSf and a constant confidence in the grace of
God. When we consider how weak we are ; how
apt to stumble in the way, and wander out of it, apt
to tire, and apt to turn aside ; we shall see cause
enough to walk humbly with God. And yet, when
we consider how the promises of divine aids are
adapted to our case in all the exigences of it, how
rich, how sure they are, and how certainly made
good to all those who depend upon them, and by
faith derive strength and wisdom from them, we
shall see cause enough to walk boldly with God.
He wh<^ walks uprightly,y walks with a good assur-
ance, and may travel in the greatness of the strength
of him who is mighty to save.
We have need to stand always upon our guard ;
as knowing that our way lies through an enemy's
country, where we have reason to expect that am-
bushes will be laid for us, and all the stratagems of
war made use of to do us mischief. We have need
to look well to our goings, and never so much as to
feed ourselves without fear,'' lest our table should be-
come a snare;* nor walk abroad without trembling,
lest under the green grass there should be a snake ;
lest for want of watchfulness we should be surprised
by a sudden temptation, for want of resolution we
should be overpowered by a violent temptation.
Happy is the man who thus f caret h always,' as seeing
himself never out of the reach, no, nor ever out of the
way of Satan's temptations, till he comes to heaven.
But still in the midst of this fear we must hope in
God's mercy, that he will take our part against our
spiritual enemies, will watch over us for good, will
preserve our souls from sin, from every evil work,
( Mat. zxTl. 41. V Prov. xiii. 7. v Prov. x. 9.
» Jade 19. X PsaL Ixix. 22. j Prov. xxviil. 14.
816
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
the only thing that can do them any real damage.
What Christ said to St. Paul, when he was buffeted
by a messenger of Satan, he has said to all who,
like him, fly to the mercy of God, and continue in-
stant in prayer : My grace is sufficient for thety*
though thou hast no strength of thy own that is so.
Infinite Wisdom knows what grace thy case calls
for ; and thou sbalt have enough to secure the life
and happiness of thy soul, from every thing that
aims at its death and ruin. Be strong therefore in
the Lord, and in the power of his might ; go forth,
and go on, in his name ; as David against Goliah ;
and be assured that the God of peace, the God of
your peace, will, in order to that, be the God of
your victory ; he will tread Satan under your feet,
will do it shortly, will do it effectually, that he may
be to eternity the God otyour triumphs.
6. We must keep up both a holy fear lest we come
short, and a yood hope that through grace we shall
persevere. If we rightly understand ourselves, we
cannot but be often looking forward, and consider-
ing what will be our last end, what will be our future
state. And what will it be ? Will our end be peace?
Will our endless condition be a happy one ?
Truly when we look upon the brightness of the
crown set before us, and our own meanness and un-
worthiness ; when we look upon the many difficul-
ties that lie in our way, and our own weakness, and
utter inability to break through them ; we may justly
be afraid, lest some time or other we be guilty of a
fatal miscarriage, and perish at last. And such a
fear as this is recommended to us as a means to
keep us from apostasy, that we may not really come
short, as the unbelieving Israelites did of Canaan :
Let us fear lest, a promise being left us of entering into
his rest, any of us should seem to come short,* should
do any thing that looks like, or tends towards, a
drawing back to Egypt again. We have no reason
to be secure ; many who thought they stood, stood
as high, stood as firm as we, yet have fallen, have
fallen fatally and irrecoverably. Let us, therefore,
who think we stand, take heed lest we fall,** and
with a holy fear and trembling ^ let us be continually
working out our salvation. Vigilaniibus non dormi-
entibus succurrit lex — The vigilant, not the negligent,
are favoured by the law.
Yet let not this fear degenerate into amazement,
nor take off our chariot wheels, or make us drive
heavily. While we fear lest God should leave us
to ourselves, and put us into the hand of our own
counsels, as justly he might, and then we are un-
done, let us hope in his mercy, that having begun
a good work in us he will perform it. If it be the
work of his own hands he will not forsake it, nay, he
will perfect it, if it be indeed that which truly con-
cerns us.^ The same apostle who bids us fear lest
I 9 Cor. xii. 9.
c Phil. ii. 13.
> Heb. iv. I.
4 Ps. cxxxviii. 8.
b 1 Cor. X. 12.
• Heb. ▼!. 11.
we come short, bids us give diligence to a full assur-
ance of hope unto the end ;* for faithful is he that
has called us, faithful is he that has promised, who
will perform his promise, and perfect his call. To
him, therefore, let us commit the keeping of our
souls in well doing, the greatest trust to the best
trustee ; and then let it be our comfort that we Anote?
whom we have trusted, even one who is ahU to heep
what we have committed to him against that day,^ when
it shall be called for.
Thus you see how in the g^at concerns of our
souls there is occasion both for hope and fear, and
each have their work to do, so that the two ex-
tremes of presumption and despair, those dangerous
rocks, may be avoided. This is the levelling work
by which the way of the Lord is to be prepared : by
a good hope, every valley shall be exalted, and by a
holy fear, every mountain and hill shall be brought
low.v And thus the glory of the Lord being revealed,
all flesh shall see it together.
II. The balance must likewise be kept even be-
tween hope and fear, as to our temporal concerns,
about which we cannot be wholly unconcerned.
Many cares we have upon our hearts about our life,
health, ease, and safety; about our callings and
estates, and the prosperity of them ; our reputation
and interest among men ; our relations and families,
and our comfort in them : all these we hold between
hope and fear, and must take heed, that when things
look ever so hopeful we be not rocked asleep in
security ; and when they look ever so frightful, we
do not faint away in despondency.
I. When the world smiles upon us, and our affairs
in it prosper, yet then we must keep up a holy fear,
and not be too confident in our pleasing prospects ;
not flatter ourselves with hopes of the great ad-
vancement and long continuance of our peace and
prosperity ; but balance the hopes which sense sug-
gests, with the fears which reason and religion will
suggest. When our bodies are in health, and we
are in our full strength, the breasts full of milk, and
the bones moistened with marrow ;*> when our rela-
tions are all agreeable, and such as we could wish ;
when our affairs are in a good posture, the trade
growing, the credit firm, and every thing running in
our favour ; yet even then we must fear God, and
the turns of his providence against us, remembering
that in such as fear him he takes pleasure.
Let us not say at such a time, as David said in
his prosperity,* / shall never be moved^ my mountain
stands so strong, that nothing can stir it, nothing
shake a state of health so confirmed, a reputation so
established ; or as Job said in his prosperity, / »haU
die in my nest, and multiply my days as the sand ;^ or
as Babylon in the height of her grandeur, / shall be
a lady for ever} I sit as a queen, and shall see no sor^
f STinLl. 13.
i Pi. zxx. S.
f! In. si. a 4.
k Job xxlx. la
h Job xxi. M.
1 ba. xlvii. 7.
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
817
row.'^ Let us never promise ourselves, that because
this day smiles upon us, to-morrow must needs be
as this day, and much more abundant ;° since we
know not what shall be on the morrow, nor what
one day may bring forth. Let us not put the evil
day far from us, which for ought we know may be
Tcry near, and at the door. But, to prevent the
security we are in danger of falling into at such a
time,
(I.) Let us keep up an awful regard to the sove-
reignty of the Divine Providence, and its disposals
of us and ours. We are in its hands, as clay is in
the band of the potter,e to be formed, unformed,
new formed, as be pleases. That which seemed
designed for a vessel of honour, is either marred, or
with one turn of the wheel made a despised vessel,
in which there is no pleasure : and shall we say,
dare we say. Why hast thou made me thus ? May not
God do what he will with his own creature ? and
shall he not fulfil his own counsel, whether we refuse^
or whether we choose ?^ for we are sure he is debtor
to no man.
Whatever we have, it was God who gave it us ;
and we said when we had it. Blessed be the name of
tke Lordy^ who in a way of sovereignty gave that to
Ds, which he denied to others more deserving : and
whatever we lose, it is God who takes it away ; and
when it is gone, we must say. Blessed he the name of
the Lord, who in a way of sovereignty takes from us
that which he had given us, and does us no wrong ;
for we are but tenants at will of all our enjoyments,
eren of life itself, and may be turned out at less than
an hour's warning, for our times are in God's hands,
not in our own.
It is true, that godliness has the promise of the
hit that now is ; but we must take heed of misunder-
standing those promises which relate to temporal
irood things, which are all made with this implicit
proviso. As far as is for God's glory and our good ;
and further than those, if we love cither God or our-
selTes, we shall not desire them. It is promised,
that it shall be well with them tliat fear God ; but it
ii not promised that they shall be always rich and
i:reat in the world, always in health, and at ease.
It is promised, that no evil shall befall them, nothing
that shall do them any real hurt ; but it is not pro-
mised that no affliction shall befall them, for there
may be need, that for a season they should be in hea-
viness, and it shall be for their advantage.
(2.) Let us keep up a full conviction of the vanity
of this world, and the uncertainty of all our enjoy-
ments In it We are very unapt scholars, if we have
not learned, even by our own experience and obser-
TatioD, that there are no pleasures here below that
are lasting, but they are all dying things ; and that
often proves least safe that is most dear. They are
« Rev. xviii. 7. a \i
Ivi. 12. o Jer. xviii. 4, 8. p Jobxxxiv. 33.
3 G
as flowers which will soon fade, and the sooner for
being much smelled to ; as snow which will soon
melt, and the sooner for being taken up in our hands,
and laid in our bosoms. The things we dote so
much upon make themselves wingS' (though we
should not by our own improvidence and prodigality
make them wings) and flee away as an eagle towards
heaven. And shall we then set our eyes and hearts
upon things that are not, the fashion of which pass-
eth away, and we with it?
The things we are so fond of, we call good things,
though if we have not grace to use them well, and
to do good VFith them, they are to us good for nothing.
But the Scripture calls them deceitful riches, and the
mammon of unrighteousness, because they put a cheat
upon those who depend upon them, and trust in
them ; they are not what they seem, perform not what
they promise, nor last so long as one would think
they should. What God has graciously promised
us in them, they do perform, but not what we fool-
ishly promise ourselves from them : so that if we are
deceived, we may thank ourselves ; it is our own
fault for trusting to them. They perish in the using,*
much more in the abusing. Let those, therefore,
who are rich in this world, receive the apostle's
charge, not to trust in uncertain riches, because they
are uncertain ; nor to lay up their treasure in them,
because our estates as well as our bodies are subject,
both to diseases, for moth and rust corrupt them,
and to disasters, for thieves breah through and steal
them. What assurance can we have of, what con-
fidence can we put in, those goods, which may be
lost in an instant by the firing of a house, or the
foundering of a ship at sea, by the unsuspected fraud
of those we deal with, or the overpowering force of
those we contend with ? How can we call that our
own, which is so much in others' hands, or think to
hold that fast ; when even that which is in our hand
slips through our fingers like dust, especially if wc
grasp it hard.
(3.) Let us keep up an humble sense of our own
undeservings and ill-deservings. We shall see a .
great deal of reason not to be confident of the con-
tinuance of our creature-comforts, when we consider
that we are not worthy of the leasts of them, no, not
of the crumbs that fall from the table of common
providence ; and if we were not worthy to have
them, much less are we worthy to have them long,
and to have them secured to us. Nay, we have for-
feited them all a thousand times by our abuse of
them; and God might justly take the forfeiture.
He who is in debt is continually in fear, lest all he
has be suddenly seized on : it is our case ; we are
in debt to the justice of God, and what can we ex-
pect, but to be stript of all ?
We had been so long ago, if God had dealt with
q Job i. 21. r Prov. xxili. ft. ■ Col. ii.22. t Qen. xxxii. 10.
818
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
us according to our sins ; so that we have lived all
oar days upon forfeited favours, which therefore we
can have no assurance of the continuance of.
Though we have the testimony of our consciences
for us, that what we have we have got honestly,
and not by fraud and oppression ; and that we have
used it charitably, and in some measure honoured
God with it, which is the likeliest way both to secure
it and to increase it ; yet even then we must not be
secure, for God has seen that amiss in us, which we
have not seen in ourselves ; and there is none who
can say, / have mada my heart clean^ lam pure from
«tn. We have all contracted guilt enough, to justify
God in depriving us of all our comforts in this world ;
and, therefore, have no reason to be confident of the
continuance of them, but a great deal of reason,
whatever we lose, to say, The Lord is righteous,
(4.) Let us keep up a lively expectation of troubles
and changes in this changeable, troublesome world.
It is what we are bid to count upon, and can look
for no other in a wilderness. Time and chance hap-
pen to all ; why then should they not happen to us ?
The race is not sure to the swift, nor the battle to the
strong y no, nor so much as bread to the wiscj much less
riches to men of understanding, or favour to men of
shilL^ Why then should we think them sure to us ?
Can you and I imagine that the world should be
more kind and more constant to us, than it has been
to those who went before us ? You have read the
story of Job, whom the rising sun saw the richest
of all the men of the East, but the setting sun left
poor, to a proverb. You have in your own time
seen those who were once worth thousands, so re-
duced that they and theirs have wanted necessary
food : and what exemption can we pretend to from
the common calamities of human life ? We are not
better than our fathers, nor better than our prede-
cessors. Shall we think our prosperity more firm
than that of others has been ? We might as well
think that the earth should be forsaken for us, and
the rock removed out of its place.
Nay, troubles and changes are good for us, they
are necessary for us ; the temper, or rather the dis-
temper, of our minds make them so, lest we grow
proud and secure, and in love with this world. We
read of those who have no changes, and therefore
they fear not God ; who are not in trouble as other
men,^ and therefore pride compasses them about as
a chain.^ Moab has been at ease from his youth,*"
and has not by changes and troubles been emptied
from vessel to vessel ; and therefore he is settled on
his lees, is grown secure and sensual, he is nnhum-
bled and unreformed, his taste remains in him^ and
his scent is not changed. We have therefore reason
to expect that God will in love to us exercise us
with crosses and afflictions, that he may remind us
a Eccl. ix. II.
Ps. Ixxiii. 5, 6.
» Ps. Iv. 19.
K Jer. xlviii. ii.
what we are, and what we have done amiss, may
wean us from this world, and draw out our thoughts
and affections toward that world, the comforts of
which know no changes.
(5.) Let us keep up serious thoughts of death ap-
proaching, and of our speedy removal to another
world. Though the comforts we enjoy should not
be taken from us, though we were ever so sore they
should not, yet we know not how soon we may be
taken from them, and then, how long soever they may
last, they are ours no longer. Do we not perceive
how frail our nature is ? Are we not in deaths often,
in deaths always, in death even in the midst of life ?
Do we not see ourselves, wherever we are, standing
upon the brink of eternity, and our souls continaally
in our hands ? And what good have we then to look
for in this world, who are hastening apace ont of it,
and can carry nothing away with us ? What is our
strength that we should hopef^ If we wait for a
larger and finer house than what we now live in
upon earth, before it falls to us perhaps the g^rave
may be our house, and we may make our bed in the
darkness. And when our days are past, with them
our purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of oar
heart; we and our hope go down together to the bars
of the pit, when our rest is in the dust.*
Death will put a period to all our hopes in this
world, and to all our enjoyments: how loose there-
fore should we sit to them, when life itself han^s so
loose ! He who said, Soui, take thine ease, thou hast
goods laid up for many years, eat, drinh, and he fmerry,
was by this proved a fool, that that very night his
soul was by death required of him ;* and then u^hose
shall all these things be which he has provided^ and
promised himself so much from ? None of his we
may be sure. Let us therefore be so wise as to (in-
sider our latter end, and be daily mindful of it, and
then we shall not be such fools as to rely upon any
thing in this world for a portion and happiness : we
see we have here no continuing city, let us therefore
seek and look for one that is to come.**
Let me now press this caution upon those whose
hopes are most apt to rise high from this world, that
in order to the keeping of the balance even, they
may maintain a holy fear, and not grow secnre :
[1.] You who are young, and setting out in the
world, must be reminded not to expect great things
in it. You hope you shall do as well as the best ;
but it may prove otherwise, that you may fare in it
as ill as the worst. You are apt to look at the things
of the world through that end of the perspective glass
that magnifies them, and to count upon having every
thing to your mind, as if there were nothing bnt prizes
in the world's lottery ; and so lay a foundation for
the greater grief in the disappointment, when what-
ever prizes others may have, you, perhaps, may have
J Job vi. II.
a Luke xii. 19, ao.
sJobxvii. II, 13»16.
b Heb. xiii.
14.
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
619
nothing bat blanks to your share : and then it will
be fotty " to curse yoar stars," (as some profanely
speak,) hviX justice to reproach yourselves for baild-
ing so high on a sandy foundation, and promising
yoursehes satisfaction of spirit, in that which yon
were many a time told had nothing in it bat vanity
and vexation of spirit Think not too well of your-
selves, for then you are apt to prognosticate nothing
but good to yourselves ; bat lay yourselves low, and
then you will lay your expectations low.
[2.] You who are rich, and have abundance of
Ibe world, do not make that abundance your strong
eity, and a high wallf for it is not so really, but
only in your own conceit, and you may soon find it
as a bowing waliy and a tottering fence ; a broken
reed, which will not only fail under you, bat will ran
into your hand and pierce it. Keep up such a fear
of God and his providence, as may forbid you ever
to say unto the gold. Thou art my Itope ^ and to the
fine gold. Thou art my confidence; for if the Lord
do not help you^ much more if he turn to be your
enemy, and ligbt against you, whence can the world
help you, out of the ham-fioory or out of the wine-
press,'^ oat of the farms, or out of the merchandise ?
[3.] You who are cheerful and gay, and cast away
care, who walk in the way of your heart, and in the
sight of your eyes, and withhold' not yourselves
from any joy, let the fear of God be a check to your
mirth, and restrain it from growing into an excess.
You may perhaps take care that in laughter your
hearts shall not be sad/ but the end of this mirth
may be heaviness before you are aware. When you
rejoice in hope of the glory of God, that hope will
not make you ashamed ; but when you rejoice in
hope of the wealth, and pomp, and pleasures of this
world, you have turar reason to be ashamed that you
place your happiness in such things, and will at
kngth be ashamed that you looked for so much from
them. You are but girding on the harness, and
therefore boast not, as though you had put it ojf^
^ not high-minded, but fear ; and look for that,
every day, which may come any day.
2. When the world frowns upon us, and we are
crossed, and disappointed, and perplexed in our
affairs, then we must keep up a good hope, and not
be inordinately cast down, no, not in our melancholy
prospects, about our health, our safety, our name,
oar relations, and our effects in the world. We
most not at any time burthen ourselves with dis-
tracting care, vrhat we shall eat, and what wc shall
drink, and wherewithal we shall be clothed ;** but
cajt this care upon God, and depend upon him to
care for us.* We must not in the worst of times
torment ourselves with amazing fear, as if every
thing that threatens us must needs ruin us, and
every fresh g^e would be a storm presently ; and as
eProT. Tviil. II.
f Prov. adv. 13.
4 Job xzxi. S4.
f 1 Kings XX. II.
do 2
• 2 Kings vi. 27.
h Matt. vi. 26.
if every mole-hill of difficulty in our way were an
insuperable mountain. How black soever things
look, and how low soever we are brought, we must
not allow ourselves in fearing more than there is
cause, nor more than is meet ; we must not frighten
ourselves with the creatures of our own imagina-
tion, nor suffer our fears to disquiet our minds, and
deprive us of the government and enjoyment of our-
selves, to damp our joy in God, to disturb our com-
munion with him, and discourage our dependence
on him.
But when fear weighs down the balance on that
side, let us endeavour to keep it even, to keep it
from sinking into despair, by maintaining a holy
confidence in God, even as to our outward affairs :
and when we are warned to get ready for the worsts
we must still hope the best ; hope that things are not
so bad as they seem to be, that they will not be so
bad as they are feared to be ; and that in due time
they will be better than they are. And let this hope
keep our head above water, when we are ready to
sink into despair ; let it enable us to check ourselves
for being cast down and disquieted ;^ for as bad as
things are, if we hope in God, we shall yet praise him,
(1.) Hope in God's power : be fully assured of this,
that how imminent soever the danger is, he can
prevent it ; how great soever the straits are, he can
extricate us out of them, can find out a way for us in
an untracked wilderness, and open springs of water
to us in a dry and barren land : for with him nothing
is impossible, nor is his arm ever shortened, nor his
wisdom nonplused. Let us honour God, by a firm
belief of his omnipotence ; Lord, if thou wilt thou
canst mahe me whole, thou canst mahe me clean, thou
canst raise me up from a low estate, and raise up
friends for me when I am most forlorn ; by trusting
in him as a God all-sufficient when creatures fail,
and whom we may rejoice in as the God of our sal-
vation, though the fig-tree do not blossom, and there
be no fruit in the vine. The murmuring Israelites
did not in any thing affront God so much as in say-
ing. Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?^ Can
he give bread also f As if any thing was too hard for
the Lord.
(2.) Hope in his providence ; and believe not only
that he can do any thing, but that he does do every
thing ; and whatever the event is, God does therein
pel form the thing that is appointed for vs,"* and takes
cognizance of us and our affairs, how mean and
despicable soever we are. The great God has all
hearts in his hand, their hearts particularly that you
have dealings with and dependence on. The ships
on board of which your effects are, though they are
afar off upon the sea, are under God's eye ; and he
is the confidence of all the ends of the earth,^ the
remotest plantations where your concerns lie. And
1 1 Pet. V. 7. k Ps. xliL 5.
m Job XXV. 14.
1 Ps. Ixxviii. 19.
n Ps. Ixv. 5
820
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
shall not that God who governs the world, be in-
trusted with the disposal of your concerns ?
Hope in the usual method of Providence, which
sets prosperity and adversity one over againtt the
other ; and when the ebb is at the lowest makes the
tide to turn, and the day to dawn when the night is
at the darkest. It is the glory of Providence to help
the helpless, to raise the poor out of the dust, and
bring back even from the gates of death ; to breathe
upon dry bones, and say unto them. Live. Let this
encourage us to hope, that when things are at the
worst they will mend ; and therefore, as in the heights
of prosperity we must rejoice as though we rejoiced
not, so in the depths of adversity we must weep as
though we wept not ; non si male, nunc et olim, sic
erit — not as though, because circumstances have been
and are adverse, they are ever to remain so. God
generally comforts his people, according to the time
that be has afflicted them.®
(3.) Hope in his pity and tender compassions;
which in the day of your grief and fear, you are to
look upon yourselves as the proper objects of. The
text directs us particularly to hope in his mercy ; we
must depend upon the goodness of his nature for
that which we have not an express promise for.
Let this silence our fear, that the God in whose hand
our times are, is gracious and merciful, does not
afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men, much
less his own children, but when there is cause, and
when there is need, and therefore will not always
chide, will not contend for ever; but though he
cause grief, be will have coropassion.P We may
with a good assurance/a// into the hands of the Lord,
(and whose hands soever we fall into, they are his
hands,) for we know that his mercies are great, and
those who hope in them shall find them so.
(4.) Hope in his promise ; that word of his upon
which he hath caused us to hope, and which we
have all the reason in the world to build npon,<i for
not one iota or tittle of it shall fall to the ground.
Though he has not promised to deliver us from that
particular evil we have a dread of, or to give us that
particular comfort and success we are desirous of,
yet he has promised that nothing shall harm them
who are followers of him : nay, that all things shall
work together for good to them;' and (which is
enough to silence all our fears) that though our ca-
lamities may separate us from the dearest comfort
and comforters we have in this world, yet they shall
never be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,' from divine com-
forts, and the divine Comforter.
And now, who is there here that stands in need of
this caution against despondency of spirit under dis-
couraging events, and to whom it is seasonable to
recommend a believing hope for the balancing and
• P8.XC. 1& p Lam. iii. 31, 32. s Ps. cxix. 49.
r 1 Pet iii. 13. • Rom. viii. 39.
silencing of their distnistful fears ? Let them apply
this to themselves, and make use of the hope recom-
mended to them as an anchor of the soul,^ to keep
them steady in a storm.
[1.] You who are beginning the world with fear
and trembling, who are humble, and honest, and
diligent, but have little to begpn with, have many
difficulties to break through, and arc very diffident of
your own understanding ; be not discouraged, but
hope in God's mercy. Your friends are few, unable
to help you, or unkind and regardless of you ; father
and mother have perhaps forsaken you." Know
then that you are the particular care of Providence,
which gathers the outcasts, and provides even for
young ravens, when they are deserted. Trust in the
Lord, therefore, and do good, so shalt thou dwell in
the land; and though thou be not feasted, yet verily
thou shalt be fed." Though the beginning be small,
the latter end may by the blessing of God greatly in-
crease,* and a little one may become a thousand.
[2.] You who have concerns that lie at hazard, in
danger at sea, or of being a prey to the enemy ; who
have debts in bad hands, or dear relations that you
have dependence upon, or delight in, in peril ; give
not way to amazing fear, that fear which has tor-
ment, but hope in God's mercy. Give not up any
thing for gone, till it is gone : and when it is gone,
yet give not up all for gone, as long as you have the
good providence of God to trust to. Say not, as
David in his haste, I am cast out of thy sight, or, /
shall one day perish by the hand of Saul ; but wait on
the Lord, and be of good courage, resolved to wel-
come his holy will, whatever it be. We are some-
times told that the merchants are in pain for such a
ship, such a fleet ; you think at such a time, it is
only the news of their safe arrival that will pat you
out of your pain. And what if that news never
come ? then you condemn yourselves to a lasting un-
easiness. But let me recommend that to you, which
will make you easy, whatever the event be ; commit
your way to God, by a believing prayer, and submit
your will to God by a penitent resignation ; and then
let your thoughts be established.
[3.] You who, by the providence of God, are from
fulness reduced to straits, have met with losses which
you think can never be repaired, and conclude yoa
shall never see a good day again, but are undone to
all intents and purposes ; do not give way to these
desponding thoughts, but hope in the mercy of God,
that mercy which brings low, and raises up. As
Job's troubles arc a warning to those in prosperity not
to be secure, so his return to his former splendour,
is a warning to those in adversity not to despair.
You know not what better times you may yet be re-
served for, as Job was, whose latter end God blessed
more than his beginnings*
t Heb. v\. 19. It Pa. zxvii. fo. ▼ Ps. xxsii. a
« Job Tiii. 7. X Job xlti. IS.
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
821
III. I come now briefly to show how the balance
must be kept even between hope and fear as to
public coDcems, both those of the church abroad,
and of our own nation. Are not the concerns of the
charch abroad our concerns ? They ought to be so.
I hope we all lay them near our hearts, as members
of the great body, and hearty well-wishers to its
interests, and to the honour and kingdom of its great
Head. Are we not in care that the Christian religion
may get ground among men, and not lose the ground
it has ; that it may prevail and rule in its power and
parity ; that the bounds of the church may be en-
larged by the accession both of Jews and Gentiles
to it ; that the breaches of It may be healed, by the
pouring out of a spirit of love and charity upon all
who belong to it ; that the ordinances of Christ, ad-
ministered according to the institution of (hem, may
ever be its glory, and upon that glory there may ever
be a defence ; a cloud created by day, and the shin-
ing of a flaming fire by night, both upon every dwell-
ing place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies P
The land of our nativity ought in a particular
manner to be dear to us, for in the peace or trouble
of that, we have peace' or trouble. Is it not our
concern, that our liberty and property be secured ;
that the government flourish ; that the public peace
and tranquillity be continued; that justice be duly
administered ; that the power and influence of the
nation abroad be advanced ; that the trade be pro-
tected and increased ; but, above all, that the pro-
testant religion be transmitted pure to those who shall
come after us ; that the bulwarks erected against
popery may be strengthened ; that atheism, infi-
delity, and all iniquity, may be made to stop their
mouth ; that the form of godliness may ever be the
beauty of the nation, and the power of it may ever
mle in men's hearts and lives ? Is it not our concern,
that our eyes should still see our teachers, and that
they should not again be removed into comers, nor
our religions assemblies broken up and scattered ?
If it be, we cannot but look forward with concern,
and while we enjoy peace and liberty at present, be
in care about the continuance of them ; and in our
prospects there cannot but be a mixture of hope and
fear, and we must endeavour so to fear the worst, as
not to grow secure, and so to hope the best, as not to
despond, or be dispirited.
The truth is, we are very apt at some times, when
second clauses smile a little, to be very sanguine,
above what there is reason for, and to conclude, that
we shall without fail be in Canaan presently ; at
other times, when things go not just to our mind, we
are apt to be very chagrined, more than there is
cause, and to conclude that we shall without remedy
be hurried back into Egypt again. This hour we
soar, and if the wind turn, next hour we sink ; as if
J laa. iv. A.
■ Jer. xxix. 7.
when the sun shines we should think it would never
rain, and when it rains we shouldthinkthe sun would
never shine out again. And have we not lived long
enough in this world to be ashamed both of those hopes
and those fears ? having often seen ourselves dis-
appointed both in the one and the other ; and in the
issue things have proved neither so well as we hoped,
nor so ill as we feared ; so that we have surely at
leng^ learned by experience, that it is our wisdom
and interest, as well as our duty, to keep the bal-
ance even between hope and fear.
1. We have always reason to keep up a holy fear
as to public affairs, and to be apprehensive of trou-
ble before us, even when things look most promising.
We have no reason, even when we dwell peaceably,
as the men of Israel in Solomon's time, to dwell
carelessly, as the men of Laish.* It is true, and we
have a great deal of reason to be thankful for it, that
we are a happy people ; we have long been blessed
with peace and plenty at home, and with victory and
success abroad ; we live under a very good govern-
ment, which seeks the welfare of our people, speak-
ing peace to all their seed; we have long sitten
every one under his own vine, and under his own
fig-tree ; we have long enjoyed the free exercise of
our religion, and great plenty of the means of grace,
and there has been none to make us afraid. Our
fleece has been wet with the dews of heaven, when
that of other nations has been dry : while theirs also
has been wet with showers of blood, ours has been
dry.
Shall England then say, / sit as a queen ^ and shall
see no sorrow? By no means. Happy is the man
that still fcareth, as David, whose flesh trembled for
fear of God ;'* and notwithstanding the many mer-
cies he had received from him, was afraid of his
judgments. And we have reason to be so ; for,
(1.) We are a provoking people. Atheism and
profanencss abound among us, notwithstanding the
testimonies borne against them, and the endeavours
used to suppress them. Vice is become fashionable
and epidemical ; all flesh have corrupted their way ;
the whole head sich, the whole heart faint. How is
God's name dishonoured, his day profaned, his good
creatures abused to luxury and excess; and how
does the unclean spirit range through the land!
Liberty to sin has been pleaded for as Christian
liberty, and the societies for reformation branded as
illegal inquisitionif and their pious endeavours op-
posed, insulted, and ridiculed. And shall not God
visit for these things ? Shall not his soul be avenged
on such a nation as this ?^ How can a people who
hate to be reformed, hope to be saved ?
The great decay of serious godliness among those
who run not with others to an excess of riot, is
likewise a very threatening symptom. If those
• Judges xTiii. 7. i Ps. cxix. 120.
e Jer. ix. 9.
622
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
g^row more insolent who are filling the measure of
the nation's guilt by their wickedness, and at the
same time those grow more cold and remiss, who
should empty it by their prayers and tears, things
look very ill indeed. How wofully do the profes-
sors of this age degenerate from the zeal and strict-
ness of their predecessors ! And such is the cor-
ruption of the rising generation in many families,
that there is reason to fear a further degeneracy.
And, if thus we grow worse and worse, what will
become of us at last? If thus, as Ezra speaks, the
holy seed mingle themselves with, and conform them-
selves to, the people of these abominations, what
may we expect, but that God should be angry with
us till he hath consumed us?' For our religion
sensibly consumes, and a consumption may be as
fatal as a stab. Those may be of any religion, who
are of no religion.
(2.) We are a divided people, and our divisions
give just cause to fear the worst ; for what can be
expected, but that a kingdom divided against itself
should be brought to desolation ? It is our enemies'
policy to divide us, and our sin and folly to serve
their design by our misunderstandings one of an-
other, and disafi*ection one to another, when we
might countermine and defeat it by our mutual love
and charity. For the divisions of our Reuben, there
cannot but be great thoughts and searchings of heart
among all who are concerned for the public welfare.
We are in danger of being burnt up by the heats
in our own bosoms, and broken to pieces by the
blows we give one another ; and who can we think
will be our deliverers, if we be thus oar own de-
stroyers ?
It is not so much the difference of sentiment that
is threatening, nor the difference of practice accord-
ing to that sentiment ; I never expect to see all wise
men of a mind, and good men will not act against
their judgment; but that which does us the mischief,
is the mismanagement of our differences, our un-
charitable censures one of another, and reflections
one upon another, our heats and animosities, and
party-making, to the destruction, not only of Chris-
tian charity, but of common friendship and good
neighbourhood. The breach seems wide as the sea,
which cannot be healed ; and what will be in the end
hereof? If we thus bite and devour one another,
what can be expected, but that we should be con-
sumed one of another ?* While our enemies triumph
in our divisions, it becomes us to tremble because of
them.
(3.) God has told us, that in the world we shall
have tribulation; all the disciples of Christ must
count upon it, and not flatter themselves with hopes
of an uninterrupted tranquillity any where on this
side heaven. The church is here militant, its state
i Ezra ix. 2, 14.
ff AcU vii. 38.
e Gal. V. 15. f Judges iii. 30.
h Exod. XV. 37.
in this world is a warfare : if it retire sometimes into
quarters of refreshment, yet it must expect to be
drawn out into the field again next campaign : if it
have its intervals of peace, those are intended as
breatliing times, that it may recruit and gather
strength for an encounter with another trouble.
Once we read that the land of Israel had rest four-
score years ;' but we never read afterwards that it
had so long a respite. We are in a wilderness, and
we must expect to fare no better than the church
in the wilderness did,' which though sometimes it
pitched where there were twelve wells of water,*' yet
presently was where there was no water* to drink ;
and when it removed from the wilderness of Sin,
the cloud that was their guide led them to the wil-
derness of Paran ;^ but still they were in a desert
land, where God, though he led them about, yet
instructed them. Let the people of God never expect,
till they come to heaven, to be out of the reach of
evil, and therefore never expect to be perfectly quiet
from the fear of it.
Far be it from me to suggest any thing that may
create disquieting jealousies ; all that I aim at in
mentioning these grounds of fear, is, that hereby
we may all be awakened to our duty.
[1.] Let us, in consideration hereof, stir up our-
selves to pray, and to wrestle with God in prayer,
for the turning away of the judgments, which our
own sins, and the malice of those who are the ene-
mies of our public peace, threaten us with. Jacob
feared Esau his brother, and then prayed, Deiiver
me, / pray thee, from him.' Jehoshaphat feared,
and then set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaim
a fast™ Whatever are the grounds of our fear, we
know God can remove them ; he can turn away un-
godliness from Jacob," and then he comes as a
Redeemer to Zion.
Let not our prayers for the church of God, and
for our own nation, degenerate into a formality ;
nor let us grow customary in them, as if it were only
for fashion' sake, that we prayed for the queen and
the government, the preservation of the protestant
succession, and the prosperity of the nation and its
allies, and (as some vainly drink healths to these)
only for a compliment. I fear lest some who join
with us in prayer, however in other parts of the ser-
vice they think themselves somewhat concerned,
when we come to that, grow remiss and indifferent,
as if that were nothing to them ; whereas our Lord
Jesus has taught us, before we pray for our daily
bread and the pardon of our sins, to pray for the
prosperity of his church, that his name may be
sanctified, his kingdom may come, and his will be
done. Let us therefore not only join heartily with
our ministers in prayer for the church of God, and
for the nation, but let each of us in our families and
i Exod. XTll. 3.
w s Chron.
k Numb. X. IS.
3.
I Qen. xxxii
■ Rom. xl. S6.
II.
HOPE AND FEAlR BALANCED.
823
closets be intercessors with God for pablic mercies ;
let as j$tand in the gap to tarn away bis wratb, and
give bim no rest till he establish, till he maice Jeru-
salem a praise in the earth .»
[2.] Let us, in consideration hereof, do what we
can to prevent the judgments that threaten ns, by a
personal reformation of heart and life, and by con-
tributing what we can in our places to the reforma-
tion of others. When God speaks concerning a
aation, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to de-
stroy ,p its taming from sin is the only way to save it
from ruin, and that is a sore way. It is the island
of the innocent that is delivered by the purenesi of
their hands J^ Let this charity to the public begin at
home. Let every Israelite, as once every Ninevite,
turn from his evil way ; and then who can tell but
God will yet return and repent/ and leave a blessing
behind him ? But let not this charity end there ; let
us appear on the Lord's side ; let us act in defence
of injured virtue and despised g^odlincss, and do our
utmost in bamility and sincerity to put vice and
profaneness ont of countenance. And if we thus
return to God in a way of duty, no doubt he will
return to us in a way of mercy, and be better to us
than our fears.
[3.] Being warned of a deluge coming, let us pro-
Tide accordingly : let not the warning make us
despond and despair. Noah did not ; he knew the
deluge should not be a final destruction of mankind,
bat that there would be another world after that
which was to be drowned ; he knew also that it
should go well with him, and his family. With this
hope he encouraged himself ; but being warned of
God concerning it, he was moved with fear, and
made provision for it; he walked with God, and
thcj who do so are sure to be hid in the day of the
Lord's anger,* to be hid either in heaven or under
heaven. He prepared an ark, and then was himself
saved in it. Christ is our ark, God has prepared in
him a refuge for all those who flee to him, and take
shelter in him when a deluge comes. Preserve the
evidences of yoar interest in Christ clear and un-
clouded, and your hopes of eternal life firm and
unshaken ; lay up a treasure of comforts and expe-
riences ; make the name of the Lord your strong
tower ; his attributes, his promises, your sanctuary,
into which you may run and be safe, in which you
may rest and be easy, and, then, welcome the will of
God, nothing can come amiss.
2. Whatever cause we may see to fear, yet still
we most keep up a good hope, as to public affairs.
We bear of the threatening powers and policies of
onr enemies, the heads and horns of the dragon,*
that makes war with the Lamb. We see the church
in many places afflicted, tossed with tempests, and
not comforted ; her adversaries many and mighty,
• lat Ixii. e, 7. F Jcr xTili. 7, 8. q Job xxii. 30. r Jonah iii. 10.
• Zeph. ii. 3. t Rer. xll. 3. « Zecb. xlv. 7.
her helpers few and feeble ; yet let not our faith and
hope fail ; it is day, though it be cloudy and dark,
and at evening time it shall be light." Let Israel
hope in God, and wait for him, as those who wait
for the morning ; and when the night is long and
gloomy, do as Paul's mariners did, cast anchor, and
wish for the day.* Let us learn to make the best of
that which is, and hope the best concerning that
which shall be.
Let our hopes always be such a check upon our
fears, that they may not prevail to disturb our com-
munion with God, to stop the mouth of prayer, and
weaken the hands of honest endeavour. Hearken
not to the foolish surmises of danger, nor be put into
a fright by evil tidings : Say notf A confederacy, to
whom this people shall May 9 A confederacy; neither fear
ye their fear^ nor be afraid, but mahe God your fear
and your dread.' The more we are governed by the
fear of God, the less we shall be disturbed by the
fear of man. Nehemiah encouraged the builders of
the wall with this, when they were surrounded with
enemies, who designed to come in the midst among
them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
Be not afraid of them, remember the Lord which is
yreat and terrible f"" greater and more terrible to them
than they can be to us, and who will show himself
above them in that thing wherein they deal proudly.
When you fear continually every day, as if the
oppressor in his fury ' were ready to destroy, you
forget the Lord your Maker, and his dominion over
all, and the dependence of every creature upon him ;
which, if you had a due regard to, you would look
with contempt upon Sennacherib himself, and would
say, Where is the fury of the oppressor ?
Let me prevail with you at this day to encourage
yourselves in the Lord your God as to public affairs.
While we fear our own sins, let us hope in God's
mercy ; for though our iniquities prevail against us,
and threaten to stop the current of God's favours,
yet as for our transgressions he shall purge them
away,* and that great obstacle being removed, his
favours shall have a free course again. Though the
designs of our enemies be laid ever so deep, and
their hopes ever so high, yet God can make even
their wrath to praise him, and restrain the remainder
of it ;• and therefore take heed and be quiet, fear
not, neither be faint-hearted,^ but hope that things
will end well at last.
There are three things which may encourage our
hope, and keep the balance even against all our
fears, as to the concerns both of the protestant
churches abroad, and our own nation.
(1.) The word which God has spoken to us ; which
(whatever other props our hopes may be supported
with) is the great foundation on which they must be
built, and then they are fixed. If our hopes be
T Acts xxvU. 80. w Isa. viil. 11. IS. * Neb. iv. II. 14.
r Isa. li. 13. < Ps. Ixv. 3. • Pb. Ixxvi. 10. b Im. vii. 4.
824
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
groanded on the promise, and our expectations
guided by it, they are as the house built on the rock ;
and the heart that is supported by them is established
and cannot be moved .« Sifractut illabatur arbis,
impavidum ferient ruince — Though the earth be re-
moved, yet will we notfearA But if our hopes be
founded on the ability and agency of creatures, they
rise or fall as second causes smile or frown ; as the
ship upon the water, which is higher or lower, as the
tide ebbs or flows. The stocks are as the news is,
and then every turn of the wheel otherwise than we
would have it, shakes our hopes, and robs us of the
comfort of them. Be persuaded therefore to hope
for what God had promised, according to the true
intent and full extent of the promise, and because
he has promised it, and that hope shall be an anchor
of the soul sure and stedfast.
Is not this the word which God has spoken, and
on which he hath caused us to hope? That the
kingdoms of the world shall become his kingdoms:
That Christ shall have the heathen given him for his
inheritance, and the ends of the earth shall see his sal-
vation. Has he not said that the man of sin shall be
consumed, the mystery of iniquity unravelled, and
that the New-Testament Babylon shall sink like a
millstone into the mighty waters ? Has he not said,
that the day will come when swords shall be beaten
into ploughshares, and spears intopruning-hooks, when
the wolf and the lamb shall lie down together, and
there shall be none to hurt or destroy in all the holy
mountain ? Has he not said, that for the oppression
of the poor, and the sighing of the needy, he will arise,
and set them in safety from those that puff at them?
That the rod of the wicked shall not always rest on the
lot of the righteous, but the year of the redeemed will
come, and the year of recompencesfor the controversy
of Zion ? Has he not said, that a seed shall serve
Christ, which shall be accounted to him for a genera-
tion : that /A« name of Christ shall endure for ever;
and that the church is built upon a rock, and tke gates
of hell shall never prevail against it ?
This, and a g^eat deal more to this purpose, he
has said ; and he is not a man that he should lie, nor
the son of man that he should repent Has he made
the promise, and shall he not make it good? In this
therefore let us trust, in this let us triumph, — God
has spoken in his holiness ; he has given me his
word for it, and then I will rejoice ; I will divide
Sechem, Gilead is mine, Manasseh mine :« it is all
my own as far as the promise goes, which we must
not so much as stagger at.
(2.) The work which God has begun among us.
We have reason to hope in God's mercy ; for the
interest that lies so much upon our hearts, even the
interest of religion among us, is the interest of God's
own kingdom, which he has set up among us, and
c Ps. cxii. 7, 8.
f P8. cii. 35.
d Ps. xlvi. S.
e Pb. Ix. 6, 7.
V Ezra x. 2.
will therefore keep up : it is the work of his own
hands,^ which he will never forsake.
Things are not so bad, but, blessed be God, there
are some hopeful, favourable symptoms in our case ;
and none more so, than the national testimonies that
are borne against atheism and infidelity, and the
threatening growth of deism, Socinianism, and scep-
ticism among us ; the complaints that are justly made
of the profanation of the Lord's day, and the con-
tempt cast upon the Scripture and divine institu-
tions ; of the wretched corruption of manners, and
the influence which the profaneness of the stage has
upon it When these things are represented as the
real grievances of the nation, and lamented accord-
ingly, surely now there is hope in Israel, concerning
this thing,8 and we may rejoice in that hope.
I trust God has among us a remnant of praying
people, a remnant that hold fast their integrity ; and
with an eye to them God will continue to save us,
and will perfect what he has wrought. We may
safely argue, as Haman's wife does, for the perfecting
of the ruin of our enemies ; If Mordecai be of the
seed of the Jews, if the cause be God's, as certainly
it is, before whom, before which, thou hast begun to
fall, thou shalt not, thou canst not, prevail, though
thou struggle ever so hard, but shalt surely, shalt
irrecoverably, fall before him^* and it And we may
also argue, as Manoah's wife does, for the preventing
of our own ruin ; //* the Lord had been pleased to kill
us, ke would not as at tkis time have showed us such
things as these.* As for God, his work is perfect ; if
he bring to the birth, he will cause to bring forth.^
(3.) The wonders which he has wrought for us.
When we are encouraging ourselves with hopes that
God will ordain peace for us, because be has wrought
our work in us ;i yet this is discouraging, that there
are such difficulties in the way, which we think can
never be got over. But let us then consider the
former times, remember the works of the Lord, and
his wonders of old ;"* not only those which our fathers
have told us of, but which we have seen in our own
days, whereby God's work has been begun, carried
on in a surprising way, and by events which we
looked not for.
When God had begun to deliver Israel out of
Egypt, and conduct them to Canaan by miracles, he
expected that in their straits they should depend
upon him still to work miracles for their relief, and
was displeased at their unbelief if they did not. God
has begun to save us, though not by miracles, yet by
marvels ; and thereby has encouraged us to depend
upon him that he will still do wonders for us, rather
than the work he has done should be undone again.
If a mean and worthless people may be saved by a
divine prerogative, why may not a weak and help-
less people be saved by a divine omnipotence ?
b Esth. vi. 13. 1 Judges xiU. 33. k Lsa. lx?i. sT"
1 lsa. xxTi. 12. n Ps. Izzvii. 11.
HOPE AND FEAR BALANCED.
825
Be of good coarage therefore, and hope in God,
that we shall yet praise him ; stay yourselves npon
him, strengthen yonrseWes in him, look upwards
with cheerfalness, and then look forward with satis-
faction. Let yoor hopes qaicken yoar prayers, let
them keep yoa in the way of daty, and enlarge yoar
hearts to run in that way ; let them quicken your
endeavoars in yoor places, to senre the interests of
God's kingdom among us to the utmost of your power ;
and then let them silence your fears, and make you
always easy to yourselves and those about you.
Comfort yourselves and one another with this, that
the same almighty hand that has laid the foundations
of his church among us, will build upon those
foundations, will in his own way and time, in his own
method, and according to the plan of bin own eternal
counsels, carry on the building, till at length the top-
stone be brought forth with shouting, and we shall
cry, Grace f grace to it,^
n Zech. iv. 7.
A SERMON
CONCERNING
THE CATECHISING OF YOUTH
PREACHED TO MR. HARRIS'S CATECHUMENS, APRIL 7, 1713.
2 Timothy i. 13.
Holdfast the form of sound wordt which thou hast heard
of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus,
Blessed Paul in this, as in the former epistle, giv-
ing wholesome advice and instruction to Timothy ;
for the enforcing of it, among other things, pats him
in mind of his education, and the advantages of it ;
the good principles which by it had been instilled
into him, and the good practices he had been trained
up in : and upon trial, now he came to years of
understanding, he could not but see that they were
good. Let him therefore adhere to them, and abide
by them, and now build upon the foundation then
laid.
He particularly mentions the two great advantages
which be was blessed with, in his childhood and
youth ; that he was bred up, both under the tuition
of godly parents, and under the direction and in-
struction of an able faithful ministry : and both these
are requisite to complete the blessings of a religious
education.
I. He had been well taught by his godly parents,
his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice,* whose
unfeigned faith the apostle would have him fre-
quently to think of, and thereby be minded to stir
up the gift of God that was in him.** His father was
a Greek, one who had little religion in him, but left
it to his mother to bring him up as she thought fit ;
and she and his grandmother were not wanting to
season the vessel betimes with a good savour ; so
that from a child he knew the Holy Scriptures, and
was made wise to salvation by them.' It is a great
opportunity, which mothers have, and which pru-
dent, pious mothers will improve, to fill the minds
of their children, when they are young, with good
• 2 Tim V. 6.
b Acts xvi. I.
knowledge, and to form them to a good disposition.
If the tree must be bent, it must be done when it is
young and tender, and with a very gentle, easy hand,
for the spirit is not to be broken but bowed.
2. He had been well taught by St Paul too. His
mother and grandmother had taught him the Scrip-
tures, and made him ready in them, as a child of
God ; then Paul expounded the Scriptures more
fully to him, and by the grace of God made him
mighty in them, so that he became a man of God,
thoroughly furnished to all good works. The text
speaks of the form of sound words, which he had
heard of Paul, either in private lectures read to bim
as his pupil, or in his public teaching and catechis-
ing, on which Timothy was constantly and dili-
gently attending.
Now those two methods of instruction, both by pa-
rents in their families, and by ministers in more
public assemblies, are necessary, and do mutually
assist each other, and neither will excuse the want
of the other. Let not parents think to leave it wholly
to ministers ; as if because their children are well
taught in public, they need not take any pains with
them at home ; no, there the foundation must be laid,
and there the improvement by public catechising
must be examined, and there a more particular ap-
plication must be made according to the children's
capacities and dispositions, than it is possible for
ministers to make in public. The people of Israel
had the Levites dispersed among them, whose office
it was to teach them the good knowledge of the Lord ;
and yet it is required of parents that they not only
receive God's words into their own hearts, but that
they teach them diligently to their children, and talk
of them in their families, and tell those under their
charge the meaning of the testimonies and judg-
ments which he had commanded thera.*^ If father, or
»> 3 Tim. iii. 1&.
a Deut vL 6. 7. 90.
A SERMON, &c.
827
mother, or both, do not teach their children first, and
teach them last too, they will not be fit for, nor
mnch the better by, public catechising.
And on the other hand, let not ministers think to
leave it wholly to parents, as if because the children
were well taught at home, they needed not to con-
tribute any help of theirs to their instruction. The
great Shepherd of the sheep has charged them to
feed his lambs* with food proper for them. Besides
the natural authority and affection of parents, it is
fit that the spiritual authority and affection of minis-
ters likewise, should be improved for the advantage
of the rising generation. And it may be presumed,
that according to the gift given to them, they have
pieater abilities for instruction than the parents have.
In teaching your children other arts and sciences,
though you may have some insight into them your-
seWes, yet you make use of those who particularly
profess those arts and sciences, and make it their
business to teach them ; and will you not do so in
that which is the one thing needful for them to learn
well. You are to feed your kids, but you must do it
beside the shepherds' tents,' under the conduct of a
gospel ministry.
Now Timothy having had this doubll advantage,
Paul urges him still to proceed in that good way
wherein he had so well set out ; to hold fast that
fonn of sound words, which he had received.
(1.) This implies that he had a form of sound
words delivered to him by Paul ; a brief summary
of the Christian doctrine, and of all those things
which are most surely believed > among Christians,
aj St Luke expresses it ; vxarvirutmv — a delineation,
a scheme, or rough draught of the gospel institutes.
It is a metaphor taken from painters ; in drawing a
face, they first draw the shape and lines of it, and
then fill it up with proper colours. Such a model
or plan of the truths and law of Christ Timothy
had, as he might afterwards, in his meditation and
preaching, enlarge upon. Whether this form of
sound words was a creed, or confession of faith, I
cannot say ; I rather think it was in the way of a
catechism, because that method of instruction was
Qsed in the early ages of the church : for we find it
alluded to in St. Peter's tirtpttTfifta — the answer of a
good conscience^ or rather the interrogation ; so that
I thiok if we apply it, especially to our catechisms,
to the forms of sound words so formed, we shall offer
DO violence at all in the text
(2.) Here is a charge to him to hold it fast, txi —
Hne it. Have it by thee, have it with thee, have it
in thee, have it always ready for use ; do not part
with it, nor in any instance depart from it. Have it,
^at is, make it to appear that thou hast it ; as to
have grace is to have it in action and exercise, and
to him who so has, has and uses what he has, shall
• John xxt 15.
h I Pet iii 21.
f Cant i. a
tPB.zii 3.
f Luk«i. I.
k Matt. ▼. 18.
be given. Or, as we read it, Hold it fast ; it was
delivered to us, to have and to hold ; and we have it
in vain, if we do not hold it
Accordingly we may hence learn two doctrines.
I. That good catechisms, containing the grounds
and principles of the Christian religion, are
useful forms of sound words ; and it is a great
mercy to have heard and learned those forms.
II. Those who have heard- and learned the good
forms of sound words, must hold them fast in
faith and love.
I. It is a very great advantage to young people, to
hear and learn the Christian forms of sound words
in the days of their youth ; to have been well taught
some good catechism, or confession of faith. Ob-
serve here,
1. The words of the gospel are vyiaivovrmv^^iound
words, or as some render it, healthful, wholesome^
healing words. Put both together, and it inti-
mates,
(1.) That there is valve and validity in the words
of the gospel ; as there is in that which is sound and
firm, and in good condition. They are what they
seem, and there is no cheat in them. Try them ;
and you will find you may trust them, as yon may
that which is sound, and will never be made ashamed
of your confidence in them. Men speak with flatter-
ing lips and with a double heart ; but the words of
the Lord are pure words,* and have no mixture of
falsehood in them. The law was written in stone,
to intimate its stability and perpetuity; and the
gospel is no less firm ; every iota and tittle of both
shall survive heaven and earth.^
Assure yourselves, brethren, the words of the gos-
pel which we preach to you, and which you are
trained up in the knowledge of, are unchangeable
and inviolable. Holy Job's creed concerning his
Redeemer, was g^ven with an iron pen and lead in
the rock for ever ;' much more is ours so ; it is what
you may venture your souls and your everlasting
welfare upon. That is a sound word. That Jesus
Christ came into the world to save sinners ; even the
chief, '^ And that is a sound word. That God has
given to %u eternal life^ and this life is in his Son,^
It is sound speech that cannot be condemned ; for
it has been more than a thousand times tried, and it
stands firm as the everlasting mountains. These are
the true sayings of God i^ and if we compare the tra-
ditions of the elders, or the speculations of the phi-
losophers, with them, we shall say, with the prophet.
What is the chaff to the wheat ?^
(2.) That there is virtue to be drawn from them
for healing and health to us. They are not only clear
from every thing that is hurtful and unwholesome,
but there is that, in them, which is medicinal and
restorative, not only of health and strength, but of
iJobzix94,aaL
e Rev. xix. 9.
m 1 Tim. i. 16. nlPetf. 11.
p Jer. xxiil. S8.
828
A SERMON CONCERNING THE
]ife itself. These waters of the sanctuary,*^ these
leaves of the tree of life, are healing to the nations.'
These words, if daly applied and mixed with faith,
restore the sonl, and put it in frame, heal its mala-
dies, and reduce to a just temper its distempered
and disordered powers. It was said of old concern-
ing those who werp sick, that God sent his word and
healed them.* And when Christ was here upon
earth, it was hy the power of his word that he healed
all who had need of healing, and in a sense of their
need applied themselves to him for it And this was
a figure of the efficacy of the word of the gospel for
the healing of diseased souls, a divine power going
along with it ; and in it the Sun of Righteousness
arises in the soul, as it did in the world, with heal-
ing under his wings.'
Let this therefore recommend to you the words we
teach you, that they are not only of inestimable value
in themselves, but will be of unspeakable advantage
to you. They are healing words indeed ; for they
are regenerating and recreating words, whereby yon
may be saved." Mix faith with them, and you will
experience the power of them, setting you to rights,
and giving you a new life and vigour. They are
therefore not only faithful sayings, but well worthy
of all acceptation, of your acceptation. Accept them
therefore, and receive the benefit of them, that you
receive not God*s grace in vain : and if they b^ in
vain, and you be not healed by them, the fault is in
yourselves.
2. It is good to have forms of these sound words
drawn up for the use of those who are to learn the
first principles of the oracles of God ; " not to be im-
posed as of equal authority with the Scriptures, but
to be proposed in order to the further study of the
Scriptures.
Bear us witness, we set up no other rule of faith
and practice, no other oracle, no other touchstone
or test of orthodoxy, but the Holy Scriptures of the
Old and New Testament : these only are the foun-
tains whence we fetch our knowledge ; these only
the foundations on which we build our faith and
hope ; these the dernier resort of all our inquiries
and appeals in the things of God, for they only are
given by divine inspiration. This is the principle
we abide by. To the law and to the teitimony ;* that
is the reffula regulan* — the paramount rule, and far
be it from as that we should set up any form of
words in competition with it, much less in contra-
diction to it ; or admit any rival with it in the con-
duct and guardianship of our souls, as some do the
traditions of the church, and others, I know not
what light within. Every other help we have for our
souls we make use of as regula regulata — a rule con-
trolled, in subordination and subserviency to the
Scripture ; and among the rest our catechisms and
confessions of faith.
q Euk. xlvii. 8, 9. r Rev. xsil. 3. • Pi. cvii. SO. t Mai. iv. a.
Give me leave to illustrate tliis by an appeal to
the gentlemen of the long robe. They know very
well that the common law of England lies in the
Year Book, and hooke of reports, in the records of
immemorial customs, and in cases occasionally ad-
judged : which are not an artificial system drawn up
by the rules of method, but rather historical collec-
tions of what was solemnly discussed, and judici-
ously delivered, in several reigns, pro ne nat«i — as
occasions have arisen, and always taken for law ; and
according to which the practice has always been ;
(with which, if I may be allowed to compare that
which, infinitely more sacred and inviolable, cannot
be altered or amended by any wisdom or power on
earth ;) such'are the books of the Scripture, histories
of the several ages of the church, (as those of the
several reigns of the kings,) and of the discoveries
of God's mind and will in every age, as there was
occasion; and these, too, built upon ancient princi-
ples, received and submitted to before these divine
annals began to be written.
But though those are the fountains and founda
tionS of the law, those gentlemen know that institutes
and abridgments, collections of and references to, the
cases adjudgid in the hooks, are of great use to them,
to prepare them for the study of the originals, and
to assist them in the application of them, but are
. not thought to derogate from the authority and ho-
nour of them. Such we reckon our forms of sound
words to be ; if in any thing they mistake the sense
of the text, or misapply it, they must be corrected
by it ; but as far as they agree with it, they are of
great use to make it more easy and ready to us.
That which is intended in these forms of sound
words, is, not like the council of Trent, to make a
new creed, and add it to what we have in the Scrip-
ture ; but to collect and arrange the truths and laws
of God, and to make them familiar.
(1.) By these forms of sound words, the main
principles of Christianity, which lie scattered in the
Scripture, are collected and brought together. We
know that all Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable, and that there is no idle word
in God's book, nothing that is unnecessary; but
we know that all is not alike profitable, or alike
necessary. Every line in a well drawn picture is
of use, and answers some end ; but every line is not
alike serviceable to the main design of the picture,
which is to represent the face of the person whose
picture it is, yet we must not say therefore, that it
might as well have been spared. The Scripture gives
us the things of God in their native purity and plain-
ness, yet not without their proper illustrations. It
is naked truth, that is, without disguise, and the
ambiguity which Apollo's oracles were noted for,
but not NAKED truth, without dress and ornament.
Now our catechisms and confessions of faith pick
u Acts xi. 14. r Heb. v. la. Heb. vi l. » isa. viil, 20.
CATECHISING OF YOUTH.
629
op from the several parts of holy writ, those pas-
sages, which though, perhaps, occasionally deliver-
ed, contain the essentials of religion, the foundations
and main pillars upon which Christianity is huilt ;
which we are concerned rightly to understand, and
finnly to believe, in the first place, and, then, to go
OD to perfection. We cannot contain all the Scrip-
ture ; hut there are some more weighty and compre-
hensive sayings, which (like those which the Jews
wrote in their phylacteries) we should bind, for a sign,
upon our hand, and which should be as frontlets
between our eyes.'' And our forms of sound words
furnish us with these.
(2.) By these, the truths of God are arranged and
pot in order. The several books of Scripture are
written in an excellent method, according as the
particular nature and intention of them is, and they
are put together in an admirable good order : bat
when out of them the main principles of religion are
to be gathered, it is necessary that they be put into
some method proper to serve the design of repre-
senting them at one view, that we may understand
them the more distinctly, by observing their mutual
references to each other, their connexion with, and
dependence upon, each other ; and thereby they
appear in their truer light, and fuller lustre.
These forms of sound words show us the order
that is in God's words, as well as in his works ; the
harmony of divine troths, how one thing tends to
another, and all centre in Christ, and the gtory of
God in Christ : and thus, like the stones in an arch,
they mutually support, and strengthen, and fix one
another. They are as a map of the land of promise,
by the help of which we may travel it over with our
eye in a little time, and know the true situation of
every tribe, though we cannot give a particular de-
scnption of every part of its inheritance.
(3.) By these, the truths of God are brought down
to the capacity of young ones, and those who are as
yet but weak in understanding. Not that God has
tpokein secret, in a dark place of the earth ;f no, the
V9rds of wisdom's nufuth are all plain to him that un-
derstandeth.* But to those who are yet babes they
seed to be explained; to them we must give tlie
iense, and cause them to understand the reading ;* and
this is in part done by those forms of sound words,
which lead us by the hand as it were into the know-
ledge of the truth as it is in Jesus. Not that we
need to seek other words than those which the Holy
Ghost teaches ; they are the most proper vehicle of
the things which are given us of God to know^^ and
it is unsafe to depart from them. Many, under pre-
tence of refining upon the Scripture, and expressing
the things contained in it more philosophically, have
but darkened counsel by words without knowledge *S
the faithful servant will deliver his message as near
> Dent. vi. a 7 Isa ziv. 19. « Prov. viii. 9.
• Neb. viii. 8. b i Cor. ii. 13.
as he can in his master's own words ; Go (says God
to Ezekiel) get thee to the house of Israel ; and do not
only speak my words, hut speak idth my words to them,^
But spiritual things must be compared with spi-
ritual, and by the plainer parts of Scripture, those
must be explained that are more dark and hard to
be understood ; and this is done by our forms of
sound words, which make the principles of religion
to be as milk for babes, who as yet cannot bear
strong meat.' The ten commandments are a divine
form of sound words to direct our practice^ but they
are short and exceeding comprehensive ; it is there-
fore necessary that we be taught from other Scrip-
tures, what each commandment requires and for-
bids. The Lord's prayer is another divine form of
sound words to direct our petitions ; but that also is
short and comprehensive, and it is requisite we
should be taught from other Scriptures, what we
pray for in each petition. The form of baptism is
another divine form of sound words, peculiar to the
Christian dispensation ; but that also needs to be
explained by other Scriptures, as it is excellently
well in the ancient creeds ; which we receive and
embrace, and greatly rejoice in, as standing, lasting
testimonies to the faith once delivered to the saints,'
which, by the grace of God, we will not only adhere
to, but earnestly contend for, and live and die by.
And all these divine forms of sound words you have
fully and fai thfully set before you, and opened to you ,
in the Assembly's Larger and Shorter Catechism ;
as, blessed be God, they are in many other, both in
our own and other reformed churches.
3. Those are happy who are well taught, and have
well learned, those forms of sound words when they
are young. It is a great privilege, and % very im-
proving one, to be betimes instructed in the prin-
ciples of religion, and to have the truths of Christ
instilled into us in the days of our youth, and to be
trained up in an acquaintance and converse with
them from the first ; by the care of godly parents
especially, who have many advantages in dealing
with children which ministers cannot have, to be put
betimes upon reading the Scriptures, and getting
portions of it by heart ; remembering and repeating
sermons ; to be taught the catechism, and examined
in it, and not only made to say it, but made, as we
are capable, to understand it, and taught to prove it
by Scripture, and give a reason for it ; to be directed
to pray, and obliged to do it; and to a strict observa-
tion of the Lord's day, in order to all this. And if
to all this be added ministerial catechising, the more
copious and accurate explication of the mysteries of
God by the appointed stewards of those mysteries,
it consummates the happiness of a religious educa-
tion, from which abundant advantages may be
reaped, if it be wisely and faithfully improved.
e Job xxi?iil. S.
• Heb. V. 12.
d Ezek. iii. 4.
f Jude a
630
A SERMON CONCERNING THE
I know I speak to those wbo enjoy this privilege,
on whom the doctrine of Christ not only comes
down in showert, in the preaching of the word, but
on whom it distils more slowly and softly, as tfie dew^
and as the small rain upon the tender herb^^ in cate-
chising. And I commend your pious zeal in covet-
ing and seeking instruction this way. Go on, and
prosper, the Lord is with you while you be with him:
and I hope it is a token fur good, and will prove so,
that God has mercy in store for the next genera-
tion,— that there are so many young people among
us who are asking tlieir way to Zion, and desire to be
told it, le^t^A their faces thitherward. Who hath be-
gotten us these ?
I know also there are many, and many there have
been, who were blest with a religious education
when they were young, and were then trained up in
the way in which they should go, who have after-
wards turned aside trom the holy commandment ;
who though they were not born of fornication^ but
were the seed of the faithful, yet have proved an un-
faithful seed, and have themselves gone a whoring
from their God, This should not discourage parents
and ministers from doing their duty, in catechising
youth, but should direct them to look up to God
for his grace, without which all our care and pains
is fruitless, and we do but beat the air ; and should
engage gou who are catechised to be jealous over
yourselves, with a godly jealousy, that you may not
be conceited of yourselves, or confident in yourselves,
may not be high-minded, but may always /ear lest
you seem to come short of that which is expected from
you, or seem to fall off to any evil work or way, and
though now you think you stand, may always take
heed lest you fall.
But I know that your being thus catechised, if
you improve it aright, and be not wanting to your-
selves, will be of unspeakable advantage to you ; and
I hope to be of use, both to direct you and to encou-
rage you, if I tell you how and which way it may
be made so.
(1.) Hereby gou are, for some time, well employed
now you are young. Childhood and youth, upon this
account, (among others,) are vanity,^ that so much
of the time is then spent to so little purpose, and yet
better than, as it is afterwards spent by many, to
evil purposes. But your being catechised obliges
you to spend at least some part of your time well,
and so as you may afterwards reflect upon it with
comfort and satisfaction above many other, perhaps
above any other, of your precious moments. If the
time which children and young people would, other-
wise, spend in sport and recreation, (they call it
PA8[s]-TiME, when we have more need of sta Y-times
than pastimes, for It passes away fast enough of
itself,) is thus happily retrieved, and is spent in
ff Deut. zxxii. 2.
h Jer. 1. 5.
i Eccl. xi. 10.
good exercises ; in conversing with the word of God ;
(which we should be meditating in day and night,)
in reviewing and repeating to ourselves the things
of God ; we cannot but say that it is a kindness to
us, and much greater than it would be, to keep a
man from spending an estate wastefully, and put
him into a way of getting an estate easily and ho-
nourably. Whatever goes with the rest of yoor time,
here is a portion of it spent so as to turn to a good
account, and so as you may meet it again with com-
fort on the other side death and the grave.
Those who are catechised either by their parents
or ministers on the evening of the Lord's day, haTe
a particular advantage therein : that those precious
minutes, (and one minute of sabbath time is worth
three of any other day,) which so many young people
idle away in foreign, foolish talk, either in the fields,
or at the doors of their houses, (which corrupts the
mind and manners, and dispels what they had g^n-
ed, if they had gained any thing, in and by the
duties of the day,) they spend in that which serves
such good purposes, and will help to clench the nail
that has been driven, that it may be a nail in a rure
place. I know not how young people can be trained
up to a better piece of good husbandry, than to a
good husbandry of time, especially sabbath time.
(2.) Hereby you will become better abU to under-
stand the word preached, and more capable of profiting
by it, and so it will be a great advantage to you. I
am sure it is the duty of ministers to preach the
word, and therein to be constant, to be instant in
season and out of season, they have [2 Tim. ir. 1,
2.] received a solemn charge to do so ; and if so,
either you must hear, or they must preach to the
walls. And I am sure you are concerned to hear,
so that your souls may live ; and therefore to take
heed how you hear, and, in order to your profiting,
to hear witli understanding. The highway ground
in our Saviour's parable, represents those who hear
the words of the kingdom, and understand it not ;^
for it is not ploughed up and prepared to receive it ;
they are not instructed in the things that are spoken
of, and therefore such as speak to them of those things
are barbarians. They who are not catechised, not
taught the forms of sound words, apprehend not
what we mean when we speak of their misery by
nature, the sinfulness of sin, the mediation of Christ,
the operations of the Spirit, and the great things of
the other world ; we had as good talk Greek to them :
they are ready to say of us, as the people did of Eze«
kiel's preaching, Doth he not speak parables?'-
But you who are catechised understand our dia-
lect, are acquainted with Scripture language ; for
you are accustomed to it, and can say, " This good
word is the confirmation, and that the illustration,
and the other the application, of what we have many
k Matt. xifi. 19.
1 Czek. XX 49.
CATECHISING OF YOUTH.
831
a time heard, and knew before, but thus are made
to Loow better. And therefore though those who
ha?e not been catechized do most need instruction,
by the preaching of the word ; (and for their sakes
we must many a time stay to explain things which
are most plain, wherein they who are strong ought to
bear with us, in compassion to the infirmities of the
weak ;) yet those who have been well catechised do
most desire it, and delight in it, and edify by it, be-
cause they understand it Catechising does to the
preaching of the word the same good ofiice that John
Baptist did to oar Saviour ; it prepares its way, and
makes its paths straight, and yet like him does but
say the same things : " Repent with an eye to the kiny-
dom of heaven."
(3.) Hereby you vUl have a foundation laid for
a good work of grace in your souls. It is true, that
God in his favours to us, and his operations on us,
acts as a God, with an incontestable sovereignty,
and an irresistible power ; but it is as true that he
deals with men as men, as reasonable creatures, in a
way suited to their nature, he draws with the cords of a
man ;" he gains possession of the will and affections
by opening the understanding, informing the judg-
ment, and rectifying its mistakes. And this is enter-
ing into the soul, as the good Shepherd, whose own
the sheep are, enters into the sheepfold by the door;"
whereas Satan debauches the aifections, and so per-
verts the will, and bribes and blinds the understand-
ing, which is climbing up another way, for he is a
thief and a robber. Christ opens the understand-
ing, and so makes the heart to bum ; opens men's
eyes, and canaes the scales to fall from them ; and
so tarns men from Satan to God.
Now though Christ can give an understanding
immediately, as to Paul ; yet ordinarily he enlight-
ens it, in the use of means, and gives a knowledge
of divine things, by the instructions of parents and
ministers; and afterwards by his Spirit and grace
brings them home to the mind and conscience, de-
lirers the soal into the mould of them, and by them
works a saving change in it. It was the prerogative
of an apostle to come to the knowledge of the gospel,
not by man, nor to be taught ft, but by the revela-
tion of Jesus Christ ;° we must come to the know-
ledge of it, in the way of instituted ordinances ; and
none more likely to prepare for the particular appli-
cations of divine grace, than this particular appli-
cation of good instruction by catechizing.
(4.) Hereby you will be a}'med against the assaults
nd insinuaiioHs of seducers, ^d such as lie in wait
t3 deceive, and draw you aside into the paths of
error. Satan is a roaring lion, who seeks in this
way to devour souls ; and none are such an easy
prey to him as those who are ignorant and unskil-
ful in the word of righteousness. But those who
« Hos. xi. 4. ■ John z. 1, & o Gftl. i. 18. p 2 Pet. iii. 17.
are well instructed in the forms of sound words, and
understand the evidence of divine truths, are aware
of the fallacies with which others are beguiled, and
know how to detect and escape them, for surely in
vain is the net spread m the sight of any bird. They
who grow in the knowledge of Christ, will not be
visibly led away bj' the error of the wicked, so as to
fall from their own stedfastness ;p those who are
thus established when they are children, will not be
always children^ tossed about with every wind of doe-
trine,*^
Those who are well catechised, are well fortified
against temptations to atheism and infidelity, which,
under pretence of FREE-thinking, invite men to
FALSE and FOOLiSH-thinking ; and by debauching
their principles, corrupt their morals: and which,
under pretence of a free conversation, allure to vice
and IMMORALITY, enslave the soul to the most bru-
tish lusts, and by corrupting the morals, debauch
the principles. It will likewise be an excellent an-
tidote against the poison of popery ; a national zeal
against which is, then, likely to be an effectual de-
fence of the protestant religion, when it is a zeal
according to knowledge. A right understanding of
the offices and ordinances of Christ, the former of
which are daringly usurped, and the latter wickedly
corrupted and profaned, in the church of Rome, will,
by the blessing of God, preserve us from going in
with those strong delusions, though the temptation
should be ever so strong, and prepare us to suffer,
rather than to sin, if we should be called out to it.
(5.) Hereby you will be furnished for doing good
to others, in the places where God has set you.
Your being well instructed in the forms of sound
words, will qualify you to be useful in your gene-
ration, for the glory of God, and the edification of
many ; which will be your honour and comfort now,
and will add to your crown hereafter. Out of a
good treasure of Christian knowledge well laid up
when you are young, you will be able, like the good
householder, to bring forth things new and old,^ as
there is occasion, for the entertainment and benefit
of others. Out of the abtmdance of the heart the
mouth will speak. Hereby you will be able to resist
and oppose that evil communication which corrupts
good manners, and to put to silence the ignorance
of foolish men ; and not only so, but to advance and
keep up that communication which is good, and to
the use of edifying/ which may manifest grace in
your hearts, and minister grace to the hearers.
These forms of sound words will teach you that
sound spirit which cannot be condemned.' And
thus your lips will feed many.
It will be likewise of great use to you in prayer ;
both in secret, and with your families, when God
calls you to the charge of families. With what
I __ , — -' -
4 Eph. It. 14. r Matt. ziii. 59. • Eph. It. S9. t Tit. ii. a
MSI
A SERMON CONCERNING THE
solid judgment, exact method, aptness, and gpreat va-
riety of expression, have I heard private Christians,
who have been well instructed in the things of God,
and conversant with the Scripture, offer up their
prayers and supplications to God, without the help
of any other forms, but those forms of sound words ;
and this with such undissembled indications of pious
affection, as has been very proper to kindle and
excite, to raise and carry on, the devotions of those
who joined with them. I believe some who are
pleased to be severe, in their reflections upon all
extemporary prayer, as we call it, would not be so,
if they knew thu so well as I have done.
(6.) Hereby, those who have a good worh of grace
begun in them, will be greatly assisted in the progress
of it. Timothy, by the help of these forms of sound
words, is nourished up in faith and good doctrine,
whereunto he has attained." They who have pure
hearts and clean hands, hereby shall become stronger
and stronger^ in judgment, in affection, and in
resolution. The more firmly the foundation is laid,
the broader and the higher the building may be
carried. And the better we understand tlie road
we are to travel, the better we shall get forward in
our journey. Affectionate Christians who are weak
in knowledge, have but the wings of a dove that
flies low ; but knowing Christians are carried on as
upon eagles' wings, with which they mount up for
the prize of the high calling, — ^they run and are not
weary.
And those who have themselves some good mea-
sures of knowledge and grace, may be greatly im-
proved in both, by attending upon public catechising;
and if young, by bearing a part in it. Apollos was
an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures;
and he was instructed in the way of the Lord,*
KaTfixvfuvoc — he was catechised, so the word is : and
he was fervent in spirit, yet he was still willing to
learn, and found advantage by it ; for there were
those who took him, and expounded to him the way
of God more perfectly. Those who think they un-
derstand the way of God pretty well, yet should still
be increasing with the increase of God, should not
think they have already attained, or are already
perfect, but should be pressing forward, and covet
to understand the way of God more perfectly.
(7.) Hereby you will have your memories well stored
for your own use, and will have always good matter
ready at hand for pious thoughts and meditations.
It is certainly as much the benefit, as it is the duty,
of Christians, to converse much in their hearts with
the things of God. It is the character of the blessed
man, and an evidence of his delighting in the law
of God after the inner man, that in that law he medi-
tates day and night,^ O how do I love it ! says David,
it is my meditation all the day ;' it is the subject.
n 1 Tim. Iv. «.
r Job xvii. 9.
Acts xTiii. 34-26.
not only of my frequent, but of my fixed, thoughts :
not now and then, upon an occasion, but constantly.
And if David could find such employment and en-
tertainment for his thoughts from morning till night
in the law of God, much more may we find satisfac-
tion in it, and the gospel of Christ too, which so far
excels it.
Now one reason why this duty of meditation is so
much neglected, is, because people want matter for
their thoughts to enlarge and expatiate upon ; and
the reason of that is, because they were never
enriched, as they should have been, in all know-
ledge;' their stock is soon exhausted, and they
know not what to think of next But if yon get an
abundance of good knowledge, you will never have
to seek for something proper and useful to entertain
yourselves with. You soon forget the sermons you
hear; but if your catechism was well learned, and
the proofs of it, you can never forget them ; so that
you may at any time take an answer of your cate-
chism, and dwell upon that in your thoughts, till
your hearts burn within you.
(8.) Hereby you will be enabled to transmit, pure
and entire, to those who come after you, that good
thing which is committed to you. The truths and
ordinances of Christ are a sacred deposit, a trust
handed down to us by our believing predecessors,
and lodged in our hands, to be carefully kept in our
day, and faithfully transferred to the generations to
come : but how can we do that, if we be not our-
selves both rightly and fully apprized of it We
are false to this trust, not only if we betray it, by
the admission of heresy and idolatry ; but if we lose
it, and let it drop, by ignorance and carelessness,
and unacquaintedness with, and indifference to, the
interests of Christianity.
We of this age cannot otherwise repay what we
received from those who went before us, than by
consigning the value received to those who come
after us ; nor make any other requital to our parents,
for giving us a good education, but by giving the like
to our children ; which, therefore, with the utmost
care and pains we should qualify ourselves to do,
and then make conscience of doing. A.nd those who
have not children of their own, ought to do it for
the children of their relations, and the children of
the poor, and to promote public catechisings and
charity schools ; and thus contribute what they can
to the raising up of a seed to serve Christ, which
shall be accounted to him for a generatioo, that
thus the name of Ch^st may endure for ever, and
his throne as the days of heaven. What has been
told to us of the wondrous works of God, we mnst
tell to our children, that they may tell them to their
children, that those who shall be created may praise
the Lord.*
X Ps. i. 2. 7 Ps- cxix. 17. « I Cor. i. 5. a PSw IxxTlii. 5 a
CATECHISING OF YOUTH.
833
II. Those who have the primlege to hear and learn
the forms of soand words, with it have a charge, —
To hold them fast in faith and love, which is in
Christ Jesus.
This implies that yoa are in dangler of losing
them, and beings robbed of them, through your own
negligence of having them snatched oat of your
hands by your spiritual enemies, or drop through
jour fingers if you do not hold them fast. Satan is
that wicked one who steals the word of God out of
the hearts of the careless hearers and learners ; as the
fowls' of the air do the seed from the highway
gTound,i> that it could not have any root in. Many
have had the form of sound words, and with it a
foim of godliness, and a name to live ; but have let
them go, and lost them ; have made shipwreck of
the faith, and of their own souls. Let their falls be
warnings to as, and let us therefore fear lesi we also
eeme shorty or so much as seem to come short.
I know I speak to those who have the form of
sonnd words, who have hold of it. In God's name
therefore I charge you to hold it fast, to keep your
bold of it, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1. You must hold it fast, that is, you must retain
the remembrance of it ; keep it in mind and me-
mory ; yoa have it, see that you always have it, that
jOQ have it ready for your use upon all occasions.
Great stress is laid upon this : the gospel is that by
which we are saved, if we keep in memory what has
been preached onto us.^ Not as if the bare remem-
bering and being able to recite these sound words,
and the forms of them, were sufficient to save us ;
they do not heal as charms and spells pretend to do,
merely by the repeating or writing of them ; a man
may be able to say all the Bible over by heart, and
jet come short of grace and glory ; but the remem-
bering of these things is necessary to our due im-
provement of them, and to the other duties required
of Ds : if we so remember the covenant as to be ever
ffliodful of it ; if we remember his commandments
to do them,^ we remember them aright
(1.) It will be of good use to 3*ou, to retain the
words yoa now learn and hear ; and in order to that,
frequently to review them, to catechise yourselves,
aod repeat them over to yourselves. What you said
to your parents perhaps by rote, when you were
children, and not yet capable of knowing the intent
and extent of, you should now say to yourselves,
with understanding, and judgment, and affection.
Let not the wisest and best be ashamed to repeat the
words of their catechism, as they have occasion to
qaote them ; but let them rather be ashamed who
cannot do it ; who can remember, all their days, the
idle foolish stories and songs they learned when
they were yoang, but forget the forms of those words
whereby they must be saved, and must be judged.
kUatt. xlii. ta
c 1 Cor. XV. 1. 2. 4 1 Cbron. xvi. 16. t Heb. ii. I.
3 H
(2.) It is of absolute necessity that you retain the
remembrance of the things, so as to have them ready
for nse, though it be in your own words. It is neces-
sary that you should be well acquainted with the
mystery of the gospel ; with your need of a Saviour;
with the method in which the salvation was wrought
out by the Son of God, and is applied by the Spirit
of God ; with the breadth of the commandment, and
with the strictness and spiritual nature of it ; with
the tenor of the new covenant, and the precious
privileges of it ; and with the great truths concern-
ing the upper and future world : in these things you
have been instructed ; and are concerned to give
the more earnest heed to the things you have heard,
lest at any time you let them slip." Consider,
[1.] They are things worth remembering ; of in-
estimable value in themselves, and of vast import-
ance and concern to us ; in comparison with which,
abundance of other things which we fill our memories
with, are but toys and trash. How many things do
we retain the remembrance of, which tend to defile
our minds, or to disquiet them, which we would
willingly forget if we could ; and how many more
are we industrious to heep in memory, which serve
only to the carrying on of our business in the world :
whilst THAT is seldom or never seriously thought of,
and so comes by degrees to be in a manner forgotten,
WHICH BELONGS TO OUR PEACE, our cvcrlasting
peace; and justly may that be hid from our eyes/
which we thus hide our eyes from. The reason Moses
gives to Israel, why they should set their hearts to
all the words he testified to them, will hold more
strongly, why we should treasure up Chrisfs word
in* our heart, and let it dwell in us richly, that It is
not a vain thing for us, but it is our life,^ and the
lives of our souls depend upon it.
[2.] The remembrance of them will be of very
great and good use to us daily ; both to fortify us
against every evil word and worh, by suggesting to
us the most powerful arguments against sin, and
the most pertinent answers to the temptations of
Satan ; and to furnish us for every good word and
work, by suggesting to us the wisest directions, and
the sweetest encouragements, in doing oar duty. If
we hold fast these forms of sound words as w.e. ought,
our mouth, like that of the righteous, shall speak wis-
dom, and our tongue shall be able to talk of judgment.
And if thus the law of our God be in our heart, none
of our steps shall slide. Solomon for this reason
writes to us excellent things in counsel and know-
ledge, that we may answer the words of truth to those
that send to us f^ or, as the margin reads it, to those
that send us, to God, who sent us into the world to
do all the good we can in it.
[3.] It was for this end that we have heard and
learned them, that we might lay them up in our hearts,
i Luke xiz. 4L g Deut. xxxli. 46^ 47. h Prov. xxii. 20, 2i.
834
A SERMON CONCERNING THE
in order to their being of use to us hereafter ; so that
we receive the grace of God therein in vain, if we
do not retain them. They are not intended merely
for your present exercise and entertainment, as a
task upon you to keep you employed, much less as
an amusement to keep up in you a reverence for
your parents and teachers ; but they were intended
to fit you for the service of God in this world, and
the vision and fruition of him in a better world. You
learn your catechism, not as you who were designed
for tradesmen learned Latin and Greek, when you
went to school, it may be, with design to forget
it, because you had a notion you should never have
occasion for it in your business ; but as you learned
to write and cast accounts^ with design to retain it,
because you were told yon would have use for it
daily in carrying on your trade. You are taught
now, that you may, as long as yon live, live accord-
ing to what you are taught
[4.] You will be called to an account shortly for
these, as well as other your advantages ; and there-
fore are concerned to improve them, so that you
may give up your account with joy, such joy as shall
be an earnest of that joy of our Lord, into which
ffood and faithful servants, who have diligently and
faithfully improved their talents, shall enter, and in
which they shall be for ever happy. For your having
heard and learned these things, will but aggravate
your condemnation if you do not hold them fast.
You know what was Chorazin's doom, 'and Beth-
saida's, and Capernaum's ; tremble lest it should be
yours. It is an awful thought which I have some-
where met with, " That the professors of this a{;e,
in which there is such plenty of the means of know-
ledge and grace, whether they go to heaven, or hell,
will be the greatest debtors in either of these places:
if to heaven, the greatest debtors to divine mercy
and grace for those improved means that helped to
bring them thither ; if to hell, the greatest debtors to
divine justice for those abused means that would
have helped to keep them thence.''
Let not what I have said of the necessity of re-
membering the sound words we hear, be a discou-
ragement to any serious, conscientious Christians,
who have honest and good hearts, but weak and
treacherous jnemories ; nor make the righteous sad,
who ought not to be made sad. You who tremble
at God's word, do really get good by it, though you
cannot recollect the method and language in which
it is delivered you. If you live in the fear of God,
and in a course of holy watchfulness against sin,
and diligence in duty, you retain the impressions of
the word, though yon cannot retain the expressions
of it I have been told of a good, man, who was
much affected with a sermon he heard concerning,
as it would appear, the vanity of the world ; and
i Pa. exix. n.
commending it afterwards to a friend, was desired
to give some account of the sermon : '* Truly," says
he, ** I cannot remember any thing of it, but I am
resolved, by the grace of God, I will never set my
heart so much upon this world as I have done. '*
'' Why then," (says his friend) " thou rememberest
all." David will never forget God's precepts, for
(says he) By them thou hast quiehened me.* If we
find oar hearts quiehened by the word, we do not for-
get it ; and it is to be hoped we wiU not, we shall not,
forget it. Put a sieve that is dirty into the water,
and though when you take it out it carries away lit-
tle or nothing of. the water with it, yet it is washed
and made clean. Though we cannot repeat the good
sermons we have heard ; yet if, through grace, oar
hearts and ways are purified by them, they are not
lost.
But let what I have said engage you who hear and
learn the forms of sound words, to hold them fast,
to imprint them in your minds and memories, that
you may have them ready to you at all times, as
occasion requires. In order to this, labour to un-
derstand them; and let your knowledge be clear
and distinct, and then you will be likely to retain it ;
set every truth in its proper place, and then you
will know where to find it; set it in its true light,
and then you will know what use to make of it. Get
your hearts duly affected with divine things, and
abide and act under the power and influence of
them ; and then you will remember them. Be often
repeating them to yourselves : the Virgin Mary
kept the sayings of Christ, by p<mdering them m ker
heart.^
2. You must hold it fast in faith. It is not enough
to remember the good truths that are taught you ;
but you must mix them with faith,^ or they will not
profit you. You let them go, though you remember
them ever so well, if you let go the belief of them,
and the profession of your faith concerning them : it
is by a hand of faith that you tahe hold of them, and
heep hold.
You must hold them fast in faith, that is,
(L) You must give a firm assent to them as faith-
ful sayings ; must set to your seal that God is tnie.
And every word of his is so, even that which you
cannot comprehend the mystery ef, as the eternity of
God, the immensity of all his perfections, the Trinity,
the incarnation of the Son of God, the operations of
the Spirit upon the soul of man, and the like ; yet
because they are things which God has revealed, you
must subscribe to the truth of: if you do not you
make God a liar ; and do in effect make yourselves
wiser than God, when you say. Haw can this be *
Whereas you should say, Lord, I believe, help thou
mine unbelief.
(2.) Yon must grow up to a full assurance of the
k Luke it. 19.
t Heb. iv. 2.
CATECHISING OF YOUTH.
835
andeniable tnith, and incontestable evidence, of
these wand words. Pass on toward perfection ;
acqaaint yonrseWes with the Confirming Cateehum ;
know not only what it is we believe, bat why wc be-
lieve it ; and be ready always to give a reason of the
hope that is in yoa." Solomon had this view in in-
9trocting his son ; 'not I miffht make thee know the
certamiy of the words of truth ;" that thou mayst be
convinced that they are words of truth, and receive
them accordingly. And Lake the evangelist had
the same design in writing his gospel, and inscribing
it to his friend Tbeophilas, who, probably, had been
his popil ; Tlkat thou mightest know the certainty of
those thinys wherein thou hast been instructed;^ this
is holding it fast in faith.
(3.) You must make a faithful application of these
soand and healing words to yourselves ; else they
will not answer the end, or be healing to you, any
more than food not eaten, physic not taken, or a
plaster not applied. Of the word of Christ you
most say, not only, " This is true," but, " This is
true concerning me :" He loved me, and gave himself
for me ; to save mc, not in my sins, hut from them ;
and to purify me to himself, and make me zealous of
^ood works. Hear it, and know it, for thy good,?
says Eliphaz to Job, /or thyself, so it is in the mar-
gin. Then only we know it for our good, when wc
know it for ourselves,
3. You must hold it fast in love ; that is the other
arm with which these forms of sound words must be
embraced, and held, that we may not let them go.
(1.) You most take delight in them, and in the
knowledge of them : that which we love we will
hold fast, and not easily part with. It is not enough
for as to know the truth, but we must love it ; not
enoogh that we receive it as a faithful saying, but
also as well worthy of all acceptation ; we must not
only give it credit as true news, but bid it welcome
as good news* and rejoice in it ; and when Christ
says, Surely f I come quickly, we must not only say,
**Ee€n so, so IT IS, he will come/' but Amen^ so BE
IT ; COME, Lord Jesus."* This wisdom, this know-
ledge, must so enter into thy heart, as to become
pleasant to thy soul.' They say it was a ceremony
used of old by the Jews, when they sent their children
to school, they gave them a piece of a honeycomb
to eat, repeating those words of Solomon, My son,
fit tkou honey because it is good, and the honeycomb,
rkieh is sweet to thy taste ; so shall the knowledge of
risdom be unto thy soul, when thou hast found it*
And that which is not thus delighted in, will not be
long held fast.
(2.) Yon mast be affected with them, and lay them
to heart, as things that concern you to the last de-
gree. Love is the leading affection, and rules the
rest ; as that goes, all the rest move. Be affected
I Pet iiL I&.
y Job V. S7.
B Prov. xxii. SI. o Luke i. 4.
q Rev. xxii. 20.
3 B 2
with love to the good word of God ; and then you
will conceive a high value and veneration for Christ,
and a rooted antipathy to sin ; a holy contempt of
the world, a deep concern for your own souls, and a
care about your everlasting state; and all other
good affections, that will be the principles of a steady
and regular motion of the soul heaven-wards. And
then you will hold fast this form of sound words,
when it makes such impressions as those upon you^
and (as Christ's sayings ought to do) sinks down
into your hearts,' and impresses a weight and stamp
upon them.
3. You must be influenced by them, and act
under the commanding power of them. That love in
which the sound words must be held fast, is here
put for all that evangelical obedience which holy love
is the principle of; for, as faith works by love, so
love works by keeping the commandments of God ;"
for TAu t> the love of God, that we keep his command-
ments, and his commandments are not grievous. We
then hold fast the sayings of Christ, when we hold
to them, in the constant temper of our minds, and
tenor of our lives, and govern ourselves by them in
all we say or do, that we may thus adorn the doc-
trine of God our Saviour.
4. There is one word more in the text to be touched
upon, and it is the centre and crown of all : This
faith and love must be in Christ Jpsus. Blessed
Paul, full of blessed Jesus, breathes nothing so
much as Christ ; he is his Alpha and Omega, and
must be ours ; it is the token in every epistle. We
must hold fast the sound words of the gospel, in that
faith and love which has Christ for its author, its ob-
ject, and its end.
(1.) Which has Christ for its author; that faith
and love which is wrought in us, not by the strength
of any natural reasonings or resolutions of our own,
but by the Spirit and grace of Christ, darting rays
of divine light into the understanding, and striking
sparks of divine lire into the affections, for these are
not of ourselves, they are the gift of God. Thou there-
fore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ
Jesus ;* for on him is our help laid, and in him only
is our help found. Depend not upon any ability of
your own, lean not to your own understanding,
but go forth and go on, take hold and keep hold, in
Christ's strength.
(2.) Which has Christ for its object ; that faith
and love in which the truths of the gospel must be
held fast, as it must flow from Christ, so it must
fasten on him. It is Christ in the gospel that we
must embrace, and hold fast ; who is the true treasure
hid in that field, which we must think it worth
while to part with all we have for the purchase of.
It is by faith in Christ, and love to Christ, that we
must hold fast what we have received. For this
r Prov. ii. 10.
tt 1 John ▼. a
• Prov. xxiv. 13, 14.
t Luke ix. 44.
▼ 2Tim. ij. 1.
836
A SERMON CONCERNING THE
reason wc must embrace these sound words, be-
cause we find so much of Christ in them. He is
tliat golden thread that runs through the web of the
whole gospel. St. Austin somewhere says of him-
self, that before his conversion he took great delight
in reading the writings of Tully, the Roman orator,
but now (says he) I cannot relish them at all, as
I used to do, because I find nothing of Christ in
them.
(3. ) Which has Christ for its end It mu.st be that
faith and love which has an eye to Christ ; which has
.this always in view, to glorify Christ, and to be glo-
rifiedwith Christ: that/at'M which presses toward its
own perfection, in the immediate sight of Christ ;
and that love which presses toward its own perfec-
tion, in the everlasting enjoyment of him.
Application.
Let me now close with a few words of exhorta-
tion, in reference to the form of sound words.
1. Let us bless God, tliat our lot is cast in a land
of light ; that he who determines the times before
appointed, and the bounds of men's habitations, has
determined ours so well, and so much to our advan-
tage ; that those statutes and judgments, which the
heathen have not known, are revealed to us. We
can never be f nough thankful to God for this dis-
tinguishing favour, his manifesting himself to us,
so as not unto the world. Blessed are our eyes, for
they see the joyful light, and our ears, for they hear
the joyful sound, which many prophets and kings
desired to see, desired to hear, and might not.*
We can never be enough thankful to God for it,
that living in a Christian nation we have Bibles ; in
a protestaut nation, we have them in a language we
understand ; that to us are committed the oracles of
God,' the lively oracles, yiih more advantage than to
the Jews of old ; that with us are the priests, the
Lord's ministers, sounding with his trumpets.' So
many and so great are our privileges, above most
other nations, that it may justly be expected, I wish
it could be as justly said, Surely this great nation is
a wise and understanding people*
2. Let us particularly be thankful to God, for the
forms of sound words, both ancient and modem,
which we have among us ; for our catechisms and
confessions of faith ; that we have plenty of them,
and variety of them, not clashing and contradicting
each other, but rather confirming and illustrating
each other ; for to Christ they all with one consent
bear witness, and to the law and to the testimony
they all appeal : though the methods be different,
they meet in the same centre ; and tend to direct
those of diiferent tastes and capacities to it likewise.
3. Let parents and governors of families make
conscience of instructing their children, and ser-
vants, in the forms of sound words. Here this work
must begin, for it must begin betimes ; Whom shall
he teach knowledge ? Whom shall ^e make to under-
stand doctrine ? The prophet there answers. Them that
are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts:^
when they are very young, under the immediate care
of their mothers or grandmotliers, as Timothy was :
they arc the teachers of babes.** When Solomoa
was tender, and only-beloved in the sight of his
mother,^ she taught him.^ The history of the Scrip-
ture is most proper to acquaint your children with
in the first place ; we see how soon they apprehend,
and are affected, with other stories, and why may
not impressions be made upon them as soon by the
Scripture stories. Pleasant and profitable instruc-
tions may also be g^ven to children by the psalms
for singing, and by divine poems and verses suited
to their capacity.
It will be of great use likewise to your children,
to be told betimes, what it is supposed natural for
them to^ask, What we mean by this and the other re-
ligious sei'vice,* Tell them why you read the Bible
with so much veneration : because it is the book of
God, and holy men wrote the several parts of it, as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Tell them
why you make conscience of praying to God so
solemnly every day : because you have a necessary
and constant dependence upon God, and npon his
providence and grace, that you are daily receiving
mercy from him, and daily need his favour. Tell
them why you observe the Lord's day, and make
such a difference between that and other days ; that
it is in remembrance of the creation of the world,
the resurrection of Christ, and the pouring out cf
the Spirit. Especially tell them of their baptism ;
take all opportunities to let them see children bap-
tized, (in order to which it is very gpod to have it
done publicly,) and tell them, thus they were bap-
tized in their infancy, and by that solemnity dedi-
cated and devoted to God the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost ; and what was done for them then, they mast
now do for themselves. Tell them of the corruption
of their nature, which needed cleansing ; and of the
grace of God in Christ, in which there is a cleans-
ing virtue.
Set them to learn their catechism ; let them com-
mit some portions of Scripture to memory, as you
find they are able to do it ; and examine them, what
they can remember of the sermons they hear. You
will meet with some difficulty herein from the cor-
ruption of their nature, which you must endeavour
to get over as much as may be by a gentle hand ;
give them instruction with all possible freedom and
familiarity, with compassion and condescension to
their capacity. Those teach these things most dlli-
Matt. xiii. le. 17.
I Deut. iv. 0.
i Rom. iii. 3. 7 2 Chron. xUi. 18.
• Isa. xxviii. 9.
b Rom. li. 90.
d Prov. xxxX. 1.
e Prov. W. 3.
• Ezod. xli. &S.
CATECHISING OF YOUTH.
837
gently to their children, not who are the most dicta-
toiial in doing it, and make the fpvatest noise, hot
who talk of them/refif«fi//jf ; when they sit in the
boose, and walk by the way, when they lie down,
and when they rise op,' frequently dropping good
instrnctions among their children : and if bat one
in ten insensibly slip into their minds, and fasten
there, what good proficients may we hope they will
be in time. Contrive how to make this work, as
much as may be, a pleasare and delight to yonr
children and servants, and not a task, or a terror, or
a drudgery. Teach them as Christ teaches, who is
meek and lowly in heart
4. Let the ministers of Christ look upon them-
selves as under a charge to feed the lambs of Christ's
flock. All the reformed churches make this a part
of their work ; to be done either pnbliclyor private-
ly ; either in their solemn religious assemblies, or in
meetings on purpose for this work ; or in visiting
their families, either by themselves, or, as in some
churches abroad , by some other proper persons qua-
lified for, and deputed to, this service particularly.
Private catechising has the advantage of a more
particular application to the persons catechised:
public catechising has the advantage of a more
general edification ; and therefore both should be
used in their season, or |hat which, all circum-
stances considered, may turn to the best account
0 that we who are ministers, were filled with a
zeal for the spiritual welfare and eternal salvation
of young people, and a concern for the rising gene-
ration ; and were to do our utmost as our ability and
opportunity is, to fill the minds of young ones, in
their early days, with the knowledge of Christ, and
to fix them for Christ, that the next generation may
be better than this. And O that those who are
employed in public catechising, may see of the tra-
Tail of their souls to their satisfaction, and not labour
in vain !
& Let us look with pity upon the great numbers
of children, even in our own land, who are not taught
these forms of sound words, but are bred up In ig-
norance and profaneness ; strangers and enemies to
Christ and true Christianity. They are poor, they are
fooUth, they know not the way of the Lord, nor the
judyment of their God,t They sit in darkness in a
land of light, and walk on in darkness, and if in-
finite mercy do not interpose to prevent, they are
hastening into utter darkness. If you can do any
thing, sirs, have compassion upon them and help
them ; pick up some of those neglected, abandoned
young ones, you who have ability, and rescue them
from ruin, by putting them into a way of receiving
instructioB. We have charity schools set up in the
city and country ; which, if managed by the rules
of catholic Christianity, have a direct tendency to
f Dent vL 7. r Jer. v. C k i Gor. IIL IS. i Horn. ziv. 17.
the bettering of the world, and the reforming of the
next age, if the reforming of this should be despaired
of. What is given to the support and encourage-
ment of them, is charity, both to soul and body, and
will be fruit abounding to your account.
6. Let those who have heard and learned the forms
of sound words long ago, retain them still, and im-
prove more and more. I have reason to think I
speak to many who were blessed with a good educa-
tion, were trained up in the way wherein they should
go: I beseech* yon examine yourselves, not only
whether you have not departed from it, I hope you
have not quite deserted it, but what progress have
you made in it ? What have you built upon that
foundation ? Has it been wood, hay, and stubble ;''
airy notions, nice speculations, perverse disputings,
and strifes of words ? or has it been gold, silver, and
precious stones ; advances in serious godliness, in
holiness, and heavenly mindedness, and the power
of that kingdom of God, which is not meat or drink,
but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy
Ghost .^ Go on and prosper, for the Lord is with you.
But if you have in any degree let go that good thing
which was committed to your trust, I beseech you
bethink jrourselves whence you have fallen, and re-
member again what you have received and heard,
and hold fast, and repent. Be watchful, and strengthen
the things which remain, that are ready to die»^
7. I must not part without a word to you, whose
request brought me to this service here to-day, you *
who are catechised in the principles of religion,
that you may grow yet more and more in the know-
ledge of Christ and Christianity.
(1.) Carefully attend to the instructions that are
given you; and treasure them up, vrith sincerity,
and all the marks of reverence and seriousness.
Give attendance on, and attention to, what is taught
you, and set your heart to it. You must take pains,
else you cannot expect to reap advantage ; for it is
in labour that there is profit Be careful to mark
what is said, not critical to make remarks upon it ;
and give account of it with afiection, but without
affectation ; and attend here not for ostentation, be-
cause you think yourselves better than others, but
for your edification, because you would be better
than you are.
(2.) Pray over what is taught you, and beg of God
to bless it to you. Man can but teach the outward
ear, it is God only that can bring it to the heart, and
in that respect none teach like him. It is he who
teaches with a strong hand,^ and then the teaching
is eflfectual ; who seals the instruction,"* and then it
is abiding ; who gives the understanding, and opens
the heart. Look up to him therefore by faithful and
fervent prayer, for that grace of his which is neces-
sary to your profiting by the means of grace. You
k Rev. la 3, a
I IfluvULII.
Job xxxiii. le.
838
A S£RMON, &c.
crave his blessing upon the food for yoar body, that
it may be noarishing to yoa ; and can yon expect
your spiritual food should nourish yon without that
blessing, or that you should have that blessing, if
you do not pray for it? That good thing which is by
the word committed to you to keep for God, do you
by prayer commit to God to keep for you, and bring
it to your minds when yon should use it
(3.) Live as those who by attendance on such an
exercise as this, make a profession of religion above
many others. Hereby you seem to be more solicitous
about your souls, and more inquisitive concerning
the way to heaven, than your neighbours ; but what
will it avail you that you seem to be so, unless yon
be really so ? The tree will be known by its fruits.
Evidence that you receive not so much instruction
in vain, by the exemplary purity and piety, serious-
ness and strictness, of your whole conversation. By
your justioe and charity, and unshaken veracity
and fidelity; your sobriety and temperance; your
humility and meekness ; your conscientious obedi-
ence to your parents and masters, and a steady
course of godliness and honesty ; you ought to adorn
the doctrine of God our Saviour. I remember
Epictetus^pressing his pupil to show by his prac-
tice of virtue, his profiting by the instructions given
him— illustrates it by this similitude : ** The sheep,''
says he, ** do not come to their shepherd, and show
him how much meat they have eaten, but they make
it to appear by their growing fatter and fitter for
use." Thus, therefore, do you make it appear, that
you improve in Christian knowledge, fty the agree-
iihlenese and evenness of yonr Christian practice^ and
your perseverance in it to the end, that you and we
may rejoice, in the day of the Lord, that we have
not run in vain, nor laboured in vain.
A MEMORIAL OF THE FIRE OF THE LORD :
IN
A SERMON,
PREACHED SEPTEMBER 2nd, 1713, BEING THE DAY OF THE COMMEMORATION
OF THE BURNING OF LONDON, IN 1666.
AT MR. REYNOLDS'S MEETING-HOUSE, NEAR THE MONUMENT.
Numbers xi. 3.
And he called the name of the pUtee Taberah, becauee
the fire of the Lord burnt among them.
We haye here an account of the pnideot and pions
care which Moses took, to preserve the memorial of a
fire which happened in the camp of Israel, by giving
a new name of suitable signification to the place
where it happened ; which being left upon record
here, in the book of God, is a monument of the fire,
further visible and more durable than this pillar of
stone, the monument hard by, and will outlast even
the pillar of salt ; for wherever, in any age, the
books of Moses are read, and they shall be read in
every age to the end of time, there shall this be told
for a memorial ; that the fire of the Lord burnt among
the Israelites, and in remembrance of it, Moses
called the pla<^ Taberah,
And thus it suits the occasion of our meeting here
to-day, in communion with many religious assem-
blies in this city, to put ourselves and one another
in mind of that fire of the Lord, which, in the me-
mory of many of you, burnt among you to that de-
gree, as to make of this city a heap, this flourishing
city a ruin ; a judgment which it was then thought
fit, by the annual observation of this day, to trans-
mit the remembrance of to posterity.
Now observe in the text,
1. What the judgment of God upon the camp of
Israel was. The fire of the Lord burnt among them.
It is called the fire of the Lord, because it fell from
heaven, it came immediately from the hand of God :
as that fire did, which sometimes consumed the sa-
• I Sam. ill. 14.
b Lev. X. 1, 2.
0 Job i. 16.
orifices, in token of God's acceptance of them, when
justly it might have consumed the sinners, and taken
vengeance on them. Here it did consume the sin-
ners, to signify, that their iniquity was such, as
should not be purged with sacrifice or ofiering for
ever ;» as another time it consumed the sacrificers,
when they oflfered strange fires.b
Lightning is the fire of the Lord, as thunder is the
voice of the Lord. With that fire Job's sheep, and the
servants that attended them, were burnt up.^ It is
heaven's fire-arms, with which sometimes dreadful
execution has been done. ** Fire and water, ''we
say, " are good servants, but bad masters :" the old
world was mastered and destroyed by water, and
this is reserved unto fire.** God has treasures of both
in his magazines, which he has laid up against the
time of trouble, the dag of battle and war.*
This fire of the Lord burnt among them, among
that people whom God peculiarly favoured, when
by sin they displeased him, and his anger was kin-
dled against them.' Though the pillar of cloud and
fire was over them to protect them, while they kept
themselves in the love of God, that should be no
security to them, when they rebelled against him.
It burnt the bodies of many of them to death, they
were killed with lightning ; or, perhaps, it burnt their
tents and goods ; It consumed, (so the original is,
r. I.) in the uttermost parts of the camp, not saying
whether persons or dwellings. Our translation de-
termines it to persons, them that dwell there ; but
the quenching of the fire, (v. 2.) seems rather to in*
timate that it was the tents that were burnt. It
kindled in the utmost parts of the camp, where the
inferior sort were, the mixt multitude, who were
d 2 Pet. iii. 6, 7. • Job xxxvuL 33.
f Numb. xi. 1.
840
COMMEMORATION OF THE
generally the riDgleaders in every mntiny ; the jadg-
ment began where the sin began. Or, it intimates
that God came npon them by degrees, seizing those
first who were of lower rank, that others might take
warning. Or, this fire began in the utmost parts of
the camp, as if it would take all before it
Now this, among other things, happened to them
for example,' and was intended to be a warning to
us, that we sin not after the similitude of their trans-
gression. The people complained ; that was it that
provoked God to kindle this fire among them. Let
those who are of a fretful, discontented spirit, who
are always complaining of their lot, complaining of
every event, quarrelling vrith God and his provi-
dence, diminishing every mercy, and doubling every
cross, see in this instance, what an exceeding sinful
sin this is, and how provoking to God. Those who
ate always complaining for trifles, must expect to
have something given them to complain of. As on
the one hand nothing is more acceptable to God,
than our humble acceptance of all he says>ind does.
CQuii Deo plaeuit ? Cui Deus plaeuerit — Who pleases
God I The man whom God pleases, Aug.) so on the
other hand, nothing is more displeasing to God,
than our being displeased at his disposals.
2. The memorial of this judgment, to transmit a
traditional knowledge of it to posterity, Moses called
that place, Taherah, Ineendium^ Combustio — a Bum"
inffn The Seventy translate the Hebrew name E/i-
nvpiofioQ, Moses knew too well how apt the people
were, soon to forget the works of God, both his mer-
cies and his judgments, and therefore was very in-
dustrious to fix in their minds the remembrance of
them; and contrived means to revive the remem-
brance of them, when it should begin to dwindle and
die. This fire of the Lord, though it burned but in
the uttermost part of the camp, and was soon quench-
ed, yet must not be forgotten ; he therefore calls the
place Ta6eraA— Here the burning was. And if pos-
terity ask. What burning? It will be answered, the
burning of a part of the camp of the Israelites, with
the fire of the Lord, for their discontent and mur-
muring. And we find Moses himself, near forty
years after, putting the next generation in mind of
this very thing, purely by the mention of this name,
as he did of other the like sins and judgments,
by the names he had given to other places for the
same purpose : And at Taherah, and at Massah,
and at Kihroth-Hattaavahy ye provoked the Lord to
wrath."
But by recording those things in his sacred writ-
ings, he has more effectually preserved the memorial
of them, and transmitted it even to us, whose lot is
cast in the ends of the earth, and upon whom the
ends of the world are come.* And this is one of
those passages of story, which the Psalmist would
r 1 Cor. X. 6.
k Pi. Izxvlii. 6, 21.
h Deut. iz. 2S.
1 Jer. vii. 12.
i 1 Cor. X. 11.
n Bccl. vii. 13.
have the fathers to make known to their children,
that they may tell them to theirs ; That God heard
their murmuring^ and was wroth, so a fire was kin-
dled against Jacob}-
So that hence we may gather this lesson :
That a lasting memorial ought to he kept of the fire
of the Lord, when it has at any time burned among
a people.
As the mercies of God ought to have their memo-
rials, and used to have in the church of God names
of remembrance, stones of remembrance, songs of
remembrance, days of remembrance, of which it
were easy to give numerous instances in Scripture ;
so the judgments of God too should be remembered,
for they are improvable as well as his mercies, im-
provable not only by the sufferers themselTes, and
by their neighbours at the same time, but by their
successors afterwards, as Shiloh's ruins were Jeru-
salem's instructions,' many ages afterwards. Care
must therefore be taken, not only to preserve the
remembrance of them in our own bosoms, but to
transmit it to the generations to come, for their
benefit.
For it is not enough to remember these works of
God, but we must consider them,'" must wisely con-
sider ° them, so as to understand them, and make a
good use of our remembrance of them. As we must
remember God's commandments to do them,** else
we remember them to no purpose ; so we must re-
member God's providences, not merely as matter of
discourse among ourselves, or information to our
children, but with suitable affections working in oar
spirits, and suitable impressions made upon thera.
Lo, this, we have searched it, (says Eliphas,) so it is,
hear it, and know thou it for thy good,^
(1.) We must often call to mind the personal
and private rebukes of Providence, which we our-
selves and our families have been under. The his-
tory of a man*s own life is as useful a piece of his-
tory as any he can study ; and here a man must be
his own historian, and his own reader ; and therefore
under both characters it is to be hoped he will be
careful, and faithful to himself. God's counsel to
Israel is good counsel to every Israelite, Thou shah
remember all the way in which the Lord thy God
has led thee in this wilderness, how he humbled thee,
and suffered thee to hunger, and chastened thecy as a
man chasteneth his son.**
We should remember what God has spoken to us,
not only by his word, giving earnest heed, lest at
any time we let it slip,^ but by his rod, for that also
has a voice, an articulate, intelligible voice, and is
sent to us on an errand, and waits for an answer ;
and the voice of both we should now both hear for
the time to come, and hear from the time past ; and
the repeating of the lessons we have been taught by
B Ps. Ixiv. 0. e pg. ciii. IS.
q Deut vHi. 2, 3, 5.
P Job V. &
T Heb. ii. I.
FIRE OF LONDON.
841
both, is confessedly necessary to our learning of
tbem perfectiy.
Apt enongh we are to complain of our former
aiBictions, too apt to remember them, with peevish
reflections upon the divine Providence, and the in-
straments of it, and vain boasting of what hardships
weha?e gone through. But we should remember
tbem, to renew our repentance for the sins that pro-
cared them, our thankfulness for the mercy that sup-
ported us under them, oar patient submissions to
tbe will of God in them, our improvements in know-
ledge and grace by them, and the good resolutions
of better obedience we made under them ; it is for
tbis end that we are to preserve memorials of our
troobles : as the lamenting church remembered the
afBiction and the misery, the wormwood and the
gall. My 8<nd (says she) huth them still in remem-
kranee, and it humbled within $ne,* And as David
penned many of his psalms, to keep in remembrance,
and to bring to remembrance, the distresses he was
io, that at the same time he might recollect, for his
present bene6t, the frame of his spirit, and the work-
ings of his heart under them.
Ton have all found your days upon earth to be full
of trooble, though not all alike so ; review the trou-
bles of your life, that what was ill done by you in
tbe day of your affliction, may be undone by repent-
ance ; and what was well done, may be done again,
may be better done, and kept always in the imagi-
nation of the thought of your heart Let not your
ncknesses and pains be forgotten ; Hezekiah took
care that his should not, but should be kept in
remembrance by his vmting, when he bad been sick
and was recovered.* Let not your losses in your
estate, your crosses and disappointments in your
affairs, be forgotten; Let not the death of yonr dear
relations, and tbe breaches thereby made upon your
comforts, be forgotten. Naomi took care that her
complicated griefs of both those kinds should not be,
when she changed her own name, Call me not Naomi,
etU me Mmra.^ David took care that his should not,
when he penned the 39th Psalm (it should seem)
Qpon occasion of the death of some friend who was
dear to him, and left upon record his prayer under
tbe affliction, Lord^ mahe me to know my end, and his
promise, 1 wiH tmke heed to my wayi.^
By remembering your afflictions in this good man •
ser, and for these good purposes, you may not only
regain the benefit you formerly got by them, but may
gain more ; as having now your thoughts more cool
and sedate, and under command, than they were in
tbe horry of the affliction. The chastening for the
present is grievous, and perhaps we are under it, as
Job was,/ic// ofean/usion ; but it is afterwards, when
it eomes to be reflected upon and reviewed, that it
• Lam. IH. 19, SO. > ba. xzzviii. 9. « Rath i. 90.
▼ Ps. xxxiz. 4. • w Heb. xif. ll.
yields ihe peaeeMe fndt of riyhteouenes*;' fruit that
remains.
By a due remembrance of former convictions,
if we received them aright, like the tender and
tractable child, we shall be kept from returning to
folly, and so prevent another correction ; and, like
the burnt child, dread the fire.
(2.) We must often call to mind public judgments,
judgments upon the communities we are members
of ; upon the land and nation, God's controversies
with them ; upon the city, his voice that has cried
to it ; for as in the peace thereof we have peace, so
in the trouble thereof we have trouble, and must feel
it. Those are unworthy the honour of Zion's sons,
who think not themselves concerned in Zion's sor-
rows, her past as well as present sorrows.
Though God by subsequent providences In favour
of a returning people, may have superseded the fast
of the fourth month, the fast oftheffihj the fast of
the seventh, the fast of the tenth, so as to turn them
into joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts ;* and by
the abundance of our comforts, may make us to
foryet our miseries, and to remember them as waters
that pass away ;' to forget all our tail,* as Joseph
did ; yet we must still remember to make a pious
improvement of it ; must still be sowing, sowing in
the spirit, though the tears in which we sowed be in
some measure wiped away : and to assist you herein,
as God enables me, is my desire and endeavour at
this time, that our coming together may not be in
vain.
God has many ways contended with us of this
nation, with you of this city ; as we have been, like
Israel of old, favoured with many privileges and
advantages above our neighbours, both for life and
godliness, whence it might justly, and with good
reason, have been inferred, as it was concerning
them. Surely this great nation is a wise and under-
standing people;^ so, being found like them, notwith-
standing this, a foolish people and unwise, nay, a
rebellious and gainsaying people, we have like them
fallen under severe judgments : for the more rich a
people's privileges are, the more provoking their
sins are, and consequently the heavier are their
punishments ; for even in this life, especially in
dealing with communities, (which as soch can be
dealt with in this life only,) God sometimes observes
a proportion between the sins and the plagues.
Some have observed, that God's judgments upon
us in this last age, have been the sorest in their kind
of any other ; like that concerning which the pro-
phet appeals to the old men, and to all the inhabit-
ants of the land, whether there had ever been the
like in their days, or in the days of their fathers. *»
Never was there such a plague in this nation, as that
s Zecb. Till. 19. r Job zi. 10.
• Deut. !▼. 6.
• Qen. xlj. 61.
b Joel i. 9.
843
COMMEMORATION OF THE
in London in 1666. never such a fire as that the year
after, never sach a dreadful storm as that about ten
years ago, as if God were heating the furnace $even
time* hatter; for he will bring greater judgments on
those who are not wrought upon by lesser; and when
he judgeth he will overcome.
That which I am now to confine myself to, is the
fire of the Lord which was kindled in this city, this
day 47 years, which in four days' time laid in ashes
the richest, the oldest, and the most considerable
part of this city, I mean within the walls ; and I
observe upon the calculation then made, that there
was almost as much consumed without the walls,
as was left standing within. For thus the survey
stood ; " 373 acres burnt within the walls, and 75
left standing ; but there were 63 acres burnt without
the walls." You had 89 parish churches burnt,
besides chapels; you had your Exchange, your
Guildhall, and the halls of your companies, laid in
ashes ; and aboye thirteen thousand dwellings lerel-
led with the ground.
Some of you can remember it, perhaps by a good
token, a sad token, you were burnt out of your houses
it may be, and forced to lodge in the fields. It may
be some of you were great losers by it, when you
were young, and setting out in the world, and it was
a great while before you recovered it ; it broke the
measures you had laid, ruffled your affairs, and put
you upon new counsels ; or perhaps brought you so
much to a loss, that you were at your wits' ends, and
at that time knew not what to do ; but have since
found to your comfort, that God knew what to do
for you, and has graciously helped you.
Or though you were not then so far grown up, or so
far engaged in the world, as to be sufferers by it, yet
you were eye-witnesses of it You saw it rage, you
saw what desolations it made ; and now you are old,
will say it was the most dreadful sight you ever saw.
The piteous case of so many ruined families, and
their doleful lamentations, could not but be yet more
affecting, yet more afflicting ; and made you ready
to cry with the prophet in a like case, my bowelsy my
bowels, I am pained at my very heart, because thou
hast heard, O my soul, the alarm of fire ! Fire ! no
less terrible than the alarm of war; Destruction
upon destruction is cried,*' The destruction of the
fire, u pon that of the pestilence the year before. Many
a melancholy story perhaps some of you have told,
upon the occurrences of that time, and the impres-
sions they made upon you. — Quaque ipse miserrima
vidi — Disastrous things have I seen.
But there is another thing which you must give
me leave to inquire. What you remember of it?
The faithful ministers of Christ at that time, no
doubt, laid out themselves in their preaching, to im-
prove that providence, in dealing with you about
e Jer. iv. 19, 30. d Fa. xdv. 18. • Eva iii. 11. f Isa. xxviii. 23.
your souls. Something came from the press upon
that occasion, by Mr. Vincent, Mr. Doolittle, and
others ; and much more we may well conclude by
word of mouth. Now what do you remember of that ?
What account can you give of the sermons yon
heard upon that occasion, and of the good impres-
sions they made upon you when you were young-,
and your hearts tender ? Can you say, through grace,
that your consciences were then conTinced and
awakened, and that when you were chastened, you
were taught out of the law, and the gospel.^ Happy
the day, and happy you, if what you then lost by
the rod of God, was made up, and more than made
up to you, in what yon gained by the word of
God.
But the most of you were not then bom, or were
so young as to remember nothing of it ; yet you
have been told of it, perhaps you have read of it,
and cannot be altogether ignorant of that event.
Blessed be God, there is no occasion for such differ-
ent sentiments and resentments between the old
people and the young, as there were when the foun-
dations of the second temple were laid, when the
young people rejoiced to see a temple begun, but
the aged wept, because it was so far inferior to the
old one. No, if the young will join with you who
are old, in bewailing the fall of the former city, you
will join with them in celebrating the beauty of the
latter;" and let both join in endeavouring to improve
the remembrance of that fire of the Loid.
Nine lessons I shall recommend to you, to be learn-
ed from that fire which we are this day observing the
memorial of.
I. See how terrible God is in his judgments, and
fear before him. It was the fire of the Lord that
burnt among you ; whatever hand of man might be
in it, it is certain this evil in the city was the Lord's
doing; it was a consumption determined by the
Lord of hosts,' and the breath of the Almighty that
kindled the fire, and directed all the motions of it
It was the Light of Israel, who is and will be a re-
joicing Light to his people, that was then as a fire,
a consuming fire ;> for so our God is and will be, to
those who rebel against him ; and the Holy One of
Israel, who was then as a flame, that devoured so
many churches and houses, as if they had been
briers and thorns, in one day.
See how terrible God's majesty is ; when he came
down upon an errand of mercy, to deliver Israel out
of Egypt, he appeared in a flame of fire in the bush;^
and at Mount Sinai, the sight of the glory of the
God of Israel, was like devouring fire in the eyes of
the children of Israel '} but much more terrible is
his justice to them that provoke- him. If the glory
of his greatness be like fire, to a people who are
entering into covenant with him, much more will the
V ISB. X. 16, 17.
h £zod. iii. 2.
I Eiod. xzIy. 17,
FIRE OF LONDON.
843
terror of his wrath be so, to a people who have bro-
ken coTenant with him.
Come, behold what desolations God has made,
and say with Moses the man of God, upon the re^ew
of the judgments of God inflicted on Israel in the
wilderness, and this at Taherah, among the rest.
Who kncms the power of thine anger ?^ Say as the
men of Bethshemesh said, when there was sach a
slaughter made among them who looked into the
ark. Who ii able to stand before this holy Lord God?*
Say as the sinners in Sion are forced at length to
say, and the hypocrites when fearfulness surpriseth
them. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring
fiames^ (by which some understand God himself,)
with the everlasting burning f Say as David, Mg
^sh tremblethfor fear of thee, and I 4sm afraid of
thy judgments :^ and conclude with the apostle. It
ie a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God."
God has all creatures at his command, and all
the powers they haye are deriyed from him, and by
them he designs to keep the world in awe. The
power which the firo has to consume and destroy
is from him ; when he pleases he can countermand
it, as in the case of the three children ; and when
be pleases he can commission it, and enforoe its
operations, and direct its motions. The voice of the
Lord divides the /lames of fir e^ sends one flame one
way, and another flame another way, and each on
its respectiye errand.
Let the thoughts of the flre of London fill us with
a holy awe of God, and a filial fear of his wrath ;
that fire of the Lord, which when it is kindled but a
little, much more when it is kindled to such a degree,
we shall see cause to say, Blessed are all they that
jmt their trust in Atfii.<i Fear ye not me, saith the
Lardy' that with a touch, with a frown, with a look,
can make the iiuwsitatfu smohe ? that with one spark
of fire can lay heaps upon heaps ? Let the earth trem-
ble at his presence, much more at his absence, and
his departure in anger.
See what fools they are, who make this God their
enemy by sin, and engage his power against them,
and yet when they haye done so, bid defiance to his
justice, challenge him to do his worst, saying, Let
kim make speed, and hasten hie worh, that we may see
it* Is this a God to be jested with ? Be not de-
ceived, he isnotmoehed. Presumptuous sinners, who
play with this fire, who stretch out their hands against
God, and strengthen themsehes against the Almighty,
who run upon Aim, even upon his neeh, upon the thich
bosses of his huekUr} will find to their cost, that none
ever hardened his heart against God and prospered.
God has access with his flames to men^s hearts, as
well as to their houses, can kindle a fire in their bones,
a fire in their consciences, that shall secretly waste
k Ptal. xc. 11. 11 Sam. y\. so. m Isa. xzxiii. U.
• PbL cxlx. M», o Heb. x. 31. p PnL xxlx. 7. q Pnl. it. is.
and exhaust their spirits, a ^r^ not blown, not seen,
that shall consume them, a fire that shall bum to the
lowest hell, and never be quenched.
Give all diligence, therefore, to make your peace
with this terrible God : it may be done, it shall be
done, if it be not your own fault. Fury is not in
him, and yet it is to no purpose to think of contend-
ing with him ; to make opposition, is but like putting
briers and thorns before a consuming fire, which,
instead of stopping its progress, does but make it
bum the more furiously. Let him therefore take
hold on his strength, that he may make peace, atid
he shall makepeace*^
And haying made your -peace with God, keep
yourselves always in his love, and take heed of turn-
ing yourselves out of it ; and while you do so, solace
yourselves in his love, and believe that this God of
power vriil be your protector, and a wall of fire round
about you.
II. See what a mischievous thing sin is, which
provokes God thus to be our enemy, and to fight
against us. If it was God's justice that burnt Lon-
don, Jt was man's injustice that brought fuel to the
fire ; for a fraitful land is never turned into barren-
ness, nor a flourishing city into rains, but it is for
the iniquity of them that dwell therein.* God never
contends with a people, but it is sin, it is sin tliat is
the cause of the controversy. National sins briug
national judgments. The sins of a city bring misery
upon it ; Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, therefore
she is removed,^ When the men of Sodom were
wicked, and sinners before the Lord exceedingly,
it was not long ere he rained hell from heaven upon
them ; and when all flesh had corrupted their way,
presently they were cut down out of time, and their
foundation overthrown with a flood. It was the
wickedness of the city, that made it combustible
matter for the Are of God's wrath to fasten upon,
Iliacos intra muros peccatur et extra-— 'Sin reigned
within and without the walls. When sin abounds
both within the walls and without, no wonder if the
fire prevails in both.
London was then told by the watchmen upon her
walls, what the sins were that provoked God to lay
it waste ; they had then a loud call to show this
Jerasalem her abominations, which might be read
in her desolations. It was then justly observed,
that for some time before the fire, the power of vice
and profaneness was grown more exorbitant than
ever, more daring, more threatening, that it insulted
and triumphed over the restraints and checks which
for some years before it had lain under, and now
set. them at defiance. It was observed, remember, not
long since, by a venerable body, '* That at that time,
to avoid hypocrisy, men ran into open impiety :" and
I have heard it complained of, by those who lived at
r Jer. V. as. • laa. ▼. i9. % Job xv. ss»a6.
n laa. xxvii. 4, 5. « PnO. cvi>. 34. w Lam. i. 8.
844
COMMEMORATION OF THE
that time, ** that debaachery was made by many a
test of loyalty ; and a man was saspected to be dis-
affected to his prince, if he did not profane the name
of his God/' Was this the character of the times
immediately preceding that desolation ? And oonld
any other be expected, but that God should visit for
these things, and that his sonl should be avenged on
such a city, such a nntion^ as this f^
Sabbath-breaking is a sin for which God has par-
ticularly threatened to contend by fire : If ye will
not hearken to me, to hallow the sabbath day, I will
kindle afire in the gates ofJerusaUmJ How sabbaths
had been profaned in those times of licentiousness, is
easy to conjecture ; and if we may make remarks upon
the circumstances of a judgment, in order to the im-
proving of it, it must be taken notice of, that the
fire began between one and two of the clock on a
Lord's-day morning, as if God would thereby inti-
mate, that it was kindled to avenge the quarrel of
his sabbath.
How should this increase our hatred of sin, that
evil and bitter thing, by which we have procured
such things as these to ourselves, which has been
the destruction of souls, bodies, families, cities,
churches, nations, worlds ; which is not only the re-
proach, but the ruin, of any people. What a dread
should we conceive of the fatal consequences of na-
tional sins, which would fix us among those holy
mourners, who sigh and cry for the abominations
that are committed amongst us.' Methinks this
should put life into the despised and almost deserted
cause, of the refonnation of manners among us, that
in the prosecution of it, we not only consult the glory
of God, the honour of our holy religion, and the good
of precious souls, but the peace, safety, and prosperity
of the communities we are members of. -The surest
way to prevent another fire, is, to discountenance
and suppress that immorality and profaneness, for
which the fire of the Lord has burnt among you.
Not that this was the only g^round of God's contro-
versy with the city. Even the professors of religion,
who run not with others to an excess of riot, con-
tributed to the guilt which kindled those flames, by
their lukewarmness and indifference in religion, their
pride, and vanity, and worldliness, and neglect of
family worship, as they were often then told by their
faithful reprovers. Under such public calamities,
our business is not to judge and censure others, but
each of us to take blame and shame to ourselves,
and seriously to ask. What haee I done f
And yet we must be very regardless of the work
of the Lord, and the operation of his hand, if we do
not observe, that London's plague and fire came but
three or four years after the casting out and silenc-
ing of a great number of able, faithful ministers of
Christ there, and all the nation over, because they
X Jer. V. 0. 7 Jet. zvii. 97. ■ £iek. Is. 4. • Jer. xxzvi. 16.
would not sin against their consciences. Jerusalem
was burnt the first time, for misusing the messengers
of the Lord ;* and the second time, for laying hands
on the disciples of Christ, and persecuting them ;^
for Christ resented what was done against them, as
done against himself.
At least we must be allowed to observe, that the
fire happened not six months after the commcDcing
of the Five-mile Act, by which they who, but a little
before, were turned out of their churches, were bar-
barously turned out of their houses, and not suffered
to live within five miles of any corporation, or of the
places where they had been ministers. It was the
observation of a wise and good man at that time,
*' that as it was in mercy to many of the ministers,
that they were removed out of the city, before that
desolating judgment came ; so it spoke aloud to the
government. Let my people yo, that they may serve
me ; and if ye will not, behold, thus and thus will I do
unto you." This he thought was the Lord's voice,
then crying in the city.
III. See what an uncertain thing this world is,
an4 all our possessions and employments in it. If
men would but believe the preacher's text and doc-
trine, which is delivered to us, not only as the word
of the Eternal God, which therefore we may venture
to believe, nay, are bound to believe, but, in compas-
sion to our infirmity, is confirmed to us by the obser-
vation and experience of the wisest of men, A U it
vanity — vanity of vanities, and vexation of spirit,
and would live up to their belief of it, it would save
them a great deal of trouble \ for how many sore
crosses and affiictions does the worldliness of our
hearts need and call for, to give us a sensible de-
monstration, that we may come under the needfol
conviction of the vanity of this world, and its insufii-
ciency to make us happy.
How plainly may we read this, by the light of
London's flames ! How many well-furnished houses
and shops were then consumed in a little time ! It
is part of the lamentation of the ruin of Babylon,
that in one hour so great riches is come to nought,'*^
How many who were worth thousands over-night,
were so impoverished by the fire, that they were
worth nothing, or next to nothing, by the next
morning ! Like Job, whom the rising sun saw the
richest of all the men of the east, and the setting sun
left poor to a proverb. Our Saviour speaks of the
danger we are in, of losing our treasures upon earth,
by the moth that corrupts, or thieves that break
through and steal ;^ but this loss of it by fire, is
worse than either. What the moth has been in, may
yet be good for something, and what the thief has
stolen, may perhaps be recovered; but what the
fire has consumed, is quite lost, and past retrieve.
How sudden and surprising was this desolation,
bLukexsl. IS.
c Rev. xviil. 17.
dlfattvi. 10.
FIRE OF LONDON.
645
bow little thought of and expected by the sufferers,
who hoped tlicy had goods laid up for many years,
and houses that should endure to many generations,
when the fire comes with a warrant to seize them
this night, and to strip them of all ; and thereby to
teach you and me not to bo&st ourselves of to-mor-
row, since we know not what a day, what a night,
what an hour, may bring forth.* And in how little
time was the desolation accomplished ! Three or four
days reduced to ashes buildings that had been long
in rearing, and treasures that had been long in ga-
thering.
This is a good reason why the rich man should
not glory in his riches, for as the flower of the grass,
which is scorched by the sun, they pass away ' and
are gone, and their place knows them no more ; a
good reason why we should not be secure in the
enjoyment of our worldly possessions, nor flatter
ourselves with the thought, that to-morrow must
needs be as this day, and much more abundant ;
that we shall die in our nest, and that our mountain
stands so strong, that it cannot be moved, when we
know not what agn^at change a very little time may
prod ace.
It is a good reason why we should not make these
perishing things our portion, nor lay up our treasure
in them ; and why we should sit loose to them, and
take our aflfections off from them : for shall we set
our eyes and hearts upon these things that are not,
that make themselves wings and flee away ;v that
are liable to a thousand destructive casualties, and
are therefore unworthy of our esteem and regard,
esspecially, when they stand in competition with the
trae and everlasting riches ? It is therefore our wis-
dom to be dead to these things, because if we be,
we shall the better bear the disappointment, if they
should be thas taken from us, and we shall easily
say, it was what we looked for. Your houses, and
shops, and goods are combustible things : call them
so, and put a value upon them accordingly, as you
do upon paper-buildings, and give all diligence to
make that snre, which will be made sure. When
Jerusalem's desolation was hastening on, the in-
habitants had this needful admonition given them.
Arise jfe, and depart ^ this is not your rest, for it is
polUted,^ it is true of all things here below, they
are pollated with sin, and are hastening towards
their rain, and therefore cannot be the repose of our
souls. What then should we do, but arise and de-
part from them ?
Neighbourhood, which is the pleasure of cities,
where houses join so close, may prove of ill conse-
qoence, and serve but to spread and propagate the
flames : of that therefore, no more than of other pre-
sent comforts, let us not be over-fond.
rv. See how malicious the enemies of our peace
and our holy religion are, and what need we have
• ProT. jocvii. I.
f James i. lo.
ff Prov. sxili. A,
to stand upon our guard against them. There is a
day that will bring to light the hidden works of
darkness, and bring into judgment every secret
thing, and to that day must be referred the full dis-
covery of the cause of the fire of London. There
was as full a demonstration given as could be, by
the master of the house where the fire began, that it
could not possibly be by accident, which gave
abundant cause to think that it was designedly set
on fire by Romish incendiaries, for the weakening of
the protestant interest, which they have all along
been, and still are, aiming at the destruction of.
The parliament met soon after tfie fire, and pre-
sently, even that House of Commons appointed a
committee to inquire into the causes of the late fire ;
before whom abundance of informations were given
in and proved, which were afterwards printed ; but
the parliament was prorogued before any judgment
was given upon them. But it seems very evident,
upon the concurring testimonies then given in, to
which I refer you, that it was the execution of a
popish design. One Robert Hubert, a French pa-
pist, being taken up upon suspicion, confessed that
he was one of those who fired the baker's house,
that was first set on fire, with a fire-ball ; and he
was executed for it. Many others were taken throw-
ing fire-balls, but by some means or other made their
escape, as appears by the report of that committee.
I would not be found insinuating any causeless,
groundless jealousies, nor incensing men with en-
mities against the persons of any; our religion
teaches us to forgive our enemies, and to pray to
God to forgive them ; we may not call for fire from
heaven upon those who are set on fire of hell against
us.*
But if this be true, as we have reason to think it
is, surely it cannot but confirm and increase our de-
testation of popery, and fill us with a holy, heavenly
zeal against that strong delusion. Can that be the
religion of the meek and humble Jesus, which needs,
and prescribes, and uses such methods for its own
propagation, as not only Christianity abhors, but
even humanity startles at, and is shocked by ? Our
Lord Jesus would not force his way, no not to Jeru-
salem, by destroying a poor village, and that of
Samaritans too, that opposed him, and gave this
reason for it, that the Son of man eame not to destroy
men's lives and dwellings, but to save them T^ How
far then are they from, nay, how contrary to, the
spirit of Christ and his holy religion, who make no
difficulty of destroying a great city, and that of
Christians too, for the compassing of their design
to reduce a people under the heavy yoke of their
tyranny, that had happily escaped from under it.
But no wonder they stumble not at heaps of ruins,
when they startle not at seas of blood ; but to gain
their point, can wade through them without horror.
h HIc. il. 10.
1 James ili. 6.
k Luke ix. A&
846
COMMEMORATION OF THE
How many treasons, marders, and massacres, have
not only been justified but consecrated, wben they
have been for the adyancement of the pretended
catholic cause ! Instruments of cruelty are in their
habitation, as in that of Simeon and Levi : O my
souly come not thou into their secretJ
And as it should increase our hatred of the Romish
religion, so it should increase our dread of the Rom-
ish designs against us, and all that is dear to us.
The extirpating of that which they call the Northern
Heresy, is what they have been aiming at ever since
the reformation ; and we have no reason to think
they have dropped the design, when not many years
ago, it was carried so far, that it was next door to
an accomplishment, and no less than a miracle of
mercy saved our darling Isaac from being sacrificed
to popish tyranny, when it lay bound upon the altar.
Or, have we any reason to think that popery has
altered its character ? I wish we had : but the me-
thods lately taken to root out the protestant religion
in France, besides the persecution we hear of in
Poland, at this time, and other instances, are suffi-
cient to convince us, that popery is the same bloody,
barbarous, inhuman thing, that ever it was, and
therefore its advances towards us are to be as much
dreaded as ever ; that we may be quickened in our
prayers to God, to fortify our bulwarks against that
complication of sins and judgments, and to lift up a
standard against that enemy, even when he comes in
like a flood. Cry earnestly to God day and night,
that he would turn all the counsels of popish Achi-
tophels into foolishness ; and I trust he will, as he
has done many a time.
v. See how graciously God often remembers mercy
m the midst of wrath, and in compassion takes up
his controversy, when he might in justice proceed
in it. You have a monument of the judgment, here
where the fire began, but in every place where it
stopt, the houses that escaped are so many monu-
ments of sparing mercy. Yon can easily perceive,
by the different materials and structure of the houses,
just how far the fire proceeded : when you observe
this, say, It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not
consumed/^ that all was not consumed, that God did
not make a full end, but that, when he overthrew
some of you, as he overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
yet others of you were as brands plucked out of the
burning." The quenching of the fire at Taberah*
is here recorded with the kindling of it, that we
might learn to sing of mercy and judgment, and sing
unto God of both, for in both his hand is to be seen.
When God had made London as a fiery oven in
the day of his wrath, and the flames went on like a
mighty army, conquering and to conquer, threaten-
ing to leave neither root nor branch ; then God re-
pented himself concerning his servants, his soul was
grieved for the misery of London, and he said. How
I Gen. zUx. 1, 8.
m Lam iii S3-
B Amosiv. 11.
shall I give thee up T How shall I deliver thee ? How
shall I make thee as Admah, and set thee as Ze][>oim?
In every place whither the fire had spread, much
about the same time a check was given to it, and
God said to the raging fire, as he does to the raging
sea. Hitherto shalt thou come and no further, here
shall thy proud waves, thy proud flames, he staid.
Let this be remembered with thankfulness to God^
and to the praise of that mercy of his, which rejoiceth
against judgment, and prevents its making a full
end ; and let us add to this, our own experience of
the like seasonable interpositions of divine mercy
for our relief. The earthly house of this tabernacle
has perhaps been on fire with a fever, or some other
wasting, consuming distemper, ready to reduce it to
dust and ashes, yet God has staid the progress of
it, has said unto us. Live, and the time was a time of
love, not to be forgotten.
It ought to be taken notice of as an answer of
prayer ; we are told here, that when the fire of the
Lord burnt in the camp of Israel, Moses, that great
intercessor, and as such, a type of Christ, prayed
unto the Lord, and then the fire was quenched. And
no doubt when London was burning, there were a
remnant of praying people standing in the gap, to
turn away the wrath of God, who wept and made
supplication, and in answer to their prayer, God
spared a part of the city. The prophet Amos tells
us that when, in his time, the Lord God called to
contend by fire, he prayed, O Lord God, cease I be-
seech thee, and the Lord repented for this. It shall
not be, saith the Lord God,^
Let this engs^ge us to call upon God, and encou-
rage us to trust in him in all our straits and difficul-
ties, be they ever so g^eat and threatening: he is a
present help in time of need, and the necessity, as it
engages his mercy, so it magnifies his power. If we
can by faith depend upon him to save us, then when
we think we perish, it shall be made to appear that
even the winds and the seas obey him.
YI. See how wonderfully God can revive what
seemed to be ruined. Now we are remembering the
burning of this city, we must by no means overlook
the rebuilding of it, and the raising up of another
city, phoenix-like, out of the ashes of the old one.
I am apt to think this seemed to them who lived then
almost impracticable, and there were those who were
ready to despair of it. How should they find money
to rebuild their houses, and to contribute their share
to the public buildings too, who had not only lost
their goods in the fire, but lost in a manner their
trades too, by which they and their families must
subsist? and yet the Lord their God being with
them, they built and prospered, and in two or thrpe
years, there scarce remained any marks or footsteps
of the fire. You may easily imagine how great the
destruction was, and yet you will hardly imagine it.
o Numb.xL;i.
F Amos Vii. 4^<sl
FIRE IN LONDON.
847
when you obserre how magnificent the repair of it
is; for surely the glory of the Utter eity ufaryreat--
trthan the glory of the former: I wish it were so
apoD the account that the glory of the latter temple
80 far exceeded that of the former, which was the
presence of Christ in it
When God made of this city a heap, yet he did
not make it to be no city, nor say concerning it, that
it should never be built again ;^ it was desolate, bat
not, as Babylon, desolate forever ; no, nor as Jem-
niem, that had seyenty years accomplished in her
desolation:' bnt in a little time God had mercy on
foor dwelling-places, as the prophet speaks, and the
n>3f wa» bmlt again on her oum heap,* and built again
vith advantage, more strong, more beautiful, and
more uniform than it had been before ; as if it had
passed through a refining fire, rather than a consum-
iag one, and had only been melted down to be cast
in a better mould. This was the Lord^e doing, for
txet^ he hnild the home, they labour in vain that build
I'C and it may justly be marvelloui in our eye*.
God has fulfilled to you what he said of Zion and
Jerusalem, Though / waejealoue against them with
freat fury, yet / am returned unto Zion, and will
d€tU in the midst of Jeruealem ; and O that the
following promise to Jerusalem might be made good
to London, It shall be called a city of truth, and the
ntuntainofthe Lordtf hosts, the holy mountain,* How
well were it, if the hearts of the citizens were as
much improved by the fire, as their houses were !
Let this resurrection of the city out of its ashes,
i>e to ns an emblem of the state of Christ's church in
the world; it is persecuted, but not forsahen, cast
hvn, but not destroyed i' its desolations may some-
imes be said to be universal, but they shall not be
|>crpetiiaL The protestant interest in many places
b broQght very low, and its ruins trampled on, by
tbe same that triumphed in the ruins of this city of
ovr solemnities, yet we have reason to hope it shall
reTi?e, and flourish again, even where it seems razed
to the very foundations. It is promised concerning
tbe tabernacle of David, which is fallen down, that
Sod will build again the ruins thereof,*' and will
iet it Qp : when the time comes that Babylon must
^^11 (and fall it must sooner or later,) that promise
iball be fulfilled. Let this quicken our prayers to
^od, for the re-establishing of the protestant reli-
gion, where it is borne down and trampled on, and
'«t OS continue instant in that prayer, and not faint,
'hough we be sadly disappointed in the hands that
*« thought should have gone forward in the effect-
"i^of it; God will do his own work in his own way
»nd lime, if not by might and power, yet by the Spirit ,
y^e Lard of Hosts ; for so Jerusalem was rebuilt,
ind before that Spirit the mountains of diflicolty
bat lay in the way became plain.* Our care must
n la. xxr. 1 f Dan. \x. a. • Jer. xxx. IS. t P«l. cxxt li. 1.
• Z€ch. ?lli. a, a » a Cor. ir. 9. w Acts xv. IS.
be to retain a sincere affection for our holy religion,
how low soever the profession of it is, or may be
brought, and not think the worse of it for its being
deserted, and losing ground. It is the character of
the servants of God, that when Zion is in ruins, they
take pleasure even in its broken scattered stones,
and favour the very dust thereof, they love the
ground she stood upon ; and let such assure them-
selves, that the time to favour Zion, yea, the set time,
will come. And when the Lord shall build up Zion,
he shall appear in his glory, and in doing it will put
this honour upon the wrestling seed of Jacob, that
therein he will regard the prayer 'of the destitute,
and not despise their prayer.^ Let Daniel's prayer
therefore be ours, and his plea, that God would
cause his face to shine upon the sanctuary that is
desolate for the Lord's sake.'
YII. See how dangerous our condition is, who
have not been reformed by the various methods God
has taken with us. You have long since seen your
city rebuilt, and the effects of the fire no more re-
maining, which may supersede the annual memo-
rial of the judgment : but if the ends of it be not
answered, there is still occasion to revive the remem-
brance of it; may not God justly complain of us,
as he did of Israel, You have sometimes been over-
thrown by signal judgments, and at other times
saved by signal mercies, yet have ye not returned
unto me, saith the Lord,* And we may therefore
justly fear, that for all this his anger is not turned
away, but his hand is stretched out still.^ Is there
any less sinning, or any more praying, in London
than there was formerly ? I wish there were. But
we have too much reason to fear, that we come under
Jerusalem's sad character, when the founder melted
in vain.^ Iniquity still abounds and goes barefaced,
vice is as daring and threatening as ever ; and what
will be in the end thereof? May we not. fear, lest
God should send gpreater judgments among us, since
lesser have not done their work, nor gained their point.
There are fires of another nature, which we have
reason to fear the fatal effects of, both to the city,
and to the land, I mean our unhappy divisions and
animosities, and violent heats one against another :
the sin that is in our divisions may be justly punish-
ed with the ruin that is commonly the effect of them,
for a city or kingdom divided against itself is
brought to desolation, and becomes an easy prey to
the common enemy, who warm their hands at those
flames, and doubt not to find their account in setting
us at variance one against another.
The removal of the gospel, and the taking away
of our candlestick out of its place, would be a much
sorer judgment than the burning of the city, and
ought to be dreaded and deprecated accordingly. If
papal tyranny should again take footing here, if our
■■ < ■ '
s Zech. iv. 6, 7. 7 Paal- cii. 13, 14, 16, 17. ■ Dan. ix. 17
• AmoB. It. II. b ba. ix. 17. e Jer. vi. 29.
848
COMMEMORATION OF THE
Bibles should be taken from us, and our ministers be
banished or put to death, if the idolatrons mass
should be set up in our churches and the conse-
crated host carried about our streets to be adored,
London would look a more melancholy place than
it did when it was in ashes. I hope that God, who
has hitherto by miracles of mercy saved our holy
religion, will still, and that that blessed light shall
not die in our hands ; I hope it will never come to
that ; yet I must say we have no reason to be secure,
when we consider the desert of our sins, and the
designs of our enemies, and especially when we
consider the desolations of divers pnitestant churches
abroad, that once thought themselves as safe and as
likely to continue a& we do. Go tee what God did
to Shiloh; what he did to the seven churches of
Asia ; and let us not be high-minded but fear, for
are we better than they ?
The cause of truth and godliness shall be victori-
ous at last, but may meet with many a hard struggle
in the mean time. What trying times may be before
us we cannot tell, but I am sure it is our wisdom to
be prepared for the worst, by being more and more
established in the truth as it is in Jesus, by sitting
loose to the world, and treasuring up such comforts
and experiences^ as will carry us with courage and
cheerfulness through the most mournful time, to a
most joyful eternity ; and then welcome the will of God.
The gospel is not tied to places ; its privileges are
movable thing^. The kingdom of God may be
taken from us, and given to another nation ;*' and
what will become of us, if our glory be departed,
and all our pleasant things laid waste. The most
effectual course we can take to prevent it, is to make
a good use of our privileges, and live up to them ;
as the most threatening step toward it is the corrupt-
ing the nation with the vices of its neighbours,
which will be as fatal to it as the idols and idolatries
of the countries round about were to Israel of old.
I would not amuse people with causeless jealousies,
but awaken people to a holy fear and diligence in
their duty by these suggestions. There is a startling
passage in Mr. George Herbert's poem, called the
Church Militant, written I believe about eighty years
ago, which has been much taken notice of. After he
had showed how the church took rise in the eastern
parts of the world, and so moved more and more
westerly, he goes on thus :
Religion stands on tiptoe in our land.
Ready to pass to the American strand.
When height of malice and prodf^ious lusts.
Impudent sinnings, witchcrafts, and distrusts
(The marks of future bane) shall fill our cup
Unto the brim, and make our measure up ;
When Seine shall swallow Tyber, and the Thames,
By letting in them both, pollute her streams ;
d Matt xxl. 4a
When Italy of us shall have her will,
And all her calendar of sins fulfil.
Whereby one may foretell what sins next year
Shall both in France and England domineer ;
Then shall religion to America flee.
They have their times of gospel ev'n as we.
I remember I heard Dr. Tillotson (afterwards
Archbishop) quote these verses of Mr. Herbert's, in
a sermon on John xii. 36. Yet a little while is the
light with you ; (it is since printed in the second
volume of the folio edition of his posthumous works ; )
and having explained the signs of the times to be
this, " When the vices of Italy shall pass into
France, and the vices of both shall overspread Eng-
land, then the gospel will leave these parts of the
world."— He makes this remark upon it, '* Whether
this was only the prudent conjecture and foresight
of a wise man, or whether there be not something
more prophetical in it, I cannot tell. But we have
too much cause to apprehend, that if we do not
reform and grow better, God will find some way or
other to deprive us of that light, which is so abused
and affronted by our wicked lives; and he seems
now to say to us, as Christ did to the Jews, yet a
little while is the light with you/*
VIII. See what a necessary and constant depend-
ence we have upon God and bis providence for our
safety. You have seen how great a matter a little
fire kindles, and in a little time, and cannot but
think how much all you have in the world lies at
the mercy of that merciless element, if God should
give it commission. Though you be ever so careful
of fire in your own houses, how many careless peo-
ple are there in the houses about you, which, if set
on ^re, would soon set yours on fire ; so that we can
be no night secure, but that we may be either burnt
tn our beds, or burnt out of them. There have been
frequent fires in and about the city since this great
one, to put you in mind of what God has done, and
what he could do; and many other accidents we and
our families continually lie exposed to : the dreadful
wind ten years ago, showed you that God has more
arrows in his quiver, and can bring another judg-
ment without bringing another fire.
Now this should engage us all to have our eye
toward the Lord, by faith to dwell in the secret
place of the Most High, and abide under the shadow
of the Almighty ;• and by prayer every morning and
every evening, to put ourselves, our houses and fa-
milies, under dt%'ine protection, and to beg that the
city may be the care of God's providence in a par-
ticular manner, and the charge of his angels, as Jeru-
salem of old was. O that this argument migbt pre-
vail with you, to set up and keep up the worship of
God in your families, and to make a business of it,
that though I cannot assure you that it will preserve
• P>. zci. 1.
FIRE OF LONDON.
QAfk
yoa from yoar share in common calamities of this kind,
all tbin^ come alike to all, yet it is the best course
>oa can take to be safe and easy ; with what a holy
aecarity may yoa lie down at night, and go abroad in
the momiogywhen yoa have first solemnly recommend-
ed yoorselves and yoars to the mercy of God, and
taken the way which he has appointed to engage him
for yoa. Sach is the comfort of doing this, such the
satisfaction of having done it, that we may well call
it work that is its own wages. If yoa make yoar
booses little charches for God, he will make them
little sanctuaries to yoa, and create a defence upon
all yoar glory/
Yoa have yoar engines, yoar watchmen, yoar in-
sarances, hat after all. Except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman waketh but m vatii.r It is therefore your
great concern to make him your friend, and to keep
yourselves in his love ; to secure the favour of the
Roler of rulers, from whom every man's judgment
proceeds.!^ He has put you into an easy way of
doing this, not hy costly sacrifices and ofierings, but
by faithful and fervent prayer, kept up in its life,
and not sunk into a formality.
Neither pray ye for yourselves alone, and for your
hoases, bat for the city, and parts adjoining, that in
the safety thereof you may be safe. Thus approve
yourselves true friends to the city, and seek the wel-
fare of it. Yoa are for conscience sake toward God,
rendered incapable of serving the city in any civil
offices, serve it so much the more with your prayers,
serve it in sacred ofiices, as intercessors with God
for it ; and thank God you cannot be hindered from
serving it in this way.
Nor is it enough to keep prayer up in your houses,
but you must do what you can to keep sin out of
}oar houses, lest that spoil the success of your
prayers. If iniquity be in thine hand, any ill-got
gain, or any ill way of getting, put it far away, and
ht no wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles, and then
thou shalt take thy rest in safety, thou shalt lie down,
end none shall make thee afraid,^ And do what you
can, in your places, to suppress wickedness in the
city, and to promote the reformation of manners, that
the city may be called a city of righteousness, a faith-
ful city, which God may delight to dwell in.
IX. See what a dreadful d^y the great day of the
Lord will be, when the world shall be on fire, and the
earth, and all the works that are therein, shall be
burnt up. If the burning of London was so terrible,
what then will the burning of the world be, the whole
world ? When the heavens being on fire shall be dis-
t9lved^ and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,
and all these things shall be dissolved.^ The volcano s,
or burning mountains, in Naples and Sicily, and
many other places, which have been on fire as long
as we have any history of those countries extant, are
f I» iv. 5^ 6L r Ps. cxxvii. 1.
I Job xi. 14, 18, 19.
3 I
h Prov. zxv. 36.
k 3 Pet iii. 13.
sometimes very terrible, and the eruptions of fire
from them very threatening : surely Providence has
wisely ordered those little conflagrations of the earth,
to be earnests of the general conflagration, and
standing, sensible confirmations of the Scripture
tradition of it ; nay, some have thought, that they
will be in part the means of the burning of this
world ; so Dr. Tho. Burnet, in that part of his '* The-
ory of the Earth," which treats De eonfiagraiione
mundi — Of the conflagration of the world ; Extemus
est et visibilis apparatus ad hoc ineendium, in montibus
ignivomis — There is evidently a provision in the fiery
mountains for this desolation. And he quotes a re-
markable passage of Pliny, (1. ii. c. 106, 107.) when
he had reckoned up several burning mountains, &c.
he concludes, Excedit profecio omnia miracula, uUum
diemfuisse, in quo non euncia confiagrarent — It is a mi-
racle tliat the world is not on fire every day. Why should
it seem incredible to us then, that it will be on ^re
shortly? Believe it, sirs, as sure as you see this day,
you shall see that day. And where will all the wealth
and pride of this world be then ? What will become
of us, if we have all our portion and happiness in it?
Think of the fire in which the Lord Jesus will be
revealed in that day, the flaming fire,' the fire that
will devour before him ;■" he will come with an innu-
merable company of angels, and every one of those
spirits is aflame of fire.'' What flames then will the
Judge be surrounded with ! Think how you will look
him in the face in that great and terrible day, and
and how your works will abide that fire. Those who
lived and died in sin, will then call in vain to rocks
and mountains to hide them from the face of him that
sits on the throne, and the wrath of the Lamb ; but
those who lived and died in Christ, will see no terror,
no, not in that fire, but will then lift up their heads
with joy, knowing that their redemption draws nigh.
Nay, there is a fire yet more dreadful, which you
are concerned to think of. The earth, and the works
that are therein, will soon be burnt up ; but there is
a lake of fire and brimstone, which burns eternally,
and shall never be quenched, prepared indeed for
the devil and his angels, bat into which all the
wicked and ungodly shall be cast, by the irrevers-
ible sentence of the righteous Judge, and in which
they shall be tormented world without end. I am
here in God's name to give you warning to flee from
that wrath to come,** by fleeing from sin, by fleeing
to Christ; and whether you will hear, or whether
you will forbear, to testify unto you, that you come
not to that place of torment ; and if you hear not,
if you heed not, Moses and the prophets, Christ and
his ministers, giving you this warning, neither
would ye be persuaded, though one rose from the
dead.p
1 3 Then. i. ».
e Matt. iii. 6.
n Ps. 1. 3.
o P». civ. 4.
P Luke xvi. 38, 31.
A BRIEF INQUIRY INTO
THE TRUE NATURE OF SCHISM :
OR
A PERSUASIVE TO CHRISTIAN LOVE AND CHARITY.
There is scarce any odc thing that has been dis-
cussed in the Christian world with more heat and
noise among the scYcral dividing parties, than the
charge of schism. This has involved the disputing
part of the church in the most violent engagements
above twelve hundred years. Schism is so deform-
ed a brat, that nobody has been willing to own it, a
crime so very black, that each party has been studi-
ously industrious to clear itself from the charge. To
this indictment all have pleaded Not guilty ; and we
find none that have justified it But here is the
misery ; such notions of it have been entertained,
that it has been almost impossible to deny, without re-
criminating. And perhaps the most guilty have been
most hot in charging others. Athaliah, the greatest
traitor, is most loud in crying, Treatouj treaton.
We are all agreed that schism is an arch-rebel in
Christ's kingdom ; but in sending out the hue and
cry after it, the difiiculty is, how to describe it. Se-
veral attempts have been made ; would it be in vain
to try one more ? Waving all inquiries into the se-
veral definitions an^i descriptions which have been
given of it, let us have recourse to the law and to
the testimony ; for whoever speak in the things of
God, (as they certainly do who speak of sin and
duty,) if they speak not according to that rule, it is
because there is no light in them.
Therefore I only premise this one postulatum, that
nothing is to be accounted sin, but that which is
made so by the word of God : Tekel is to be written
upon nothing but that which has been carefully
weighed in the balances of the sanctuary.
In our inquiry what b sin, let those books be
opened which must be opened at the great day. If
sinners must be judged by those books shortly, let sin
be judged by them now, and let not any man or
company of men in the world, assume a power to de-
clare that to be sin, which the Sovereign Rector of
the world has not declared to be so, lest in so doing
they be found stepping into the throne of God, who
is a jealous God, and will not give this branch uf
his glory to another.
Let us therefore see what the Scripture says con-
cerning schism; not concerning the evil of it, we
are convinced of that, but concerning the nature
and/brma/i> ratio — due meaning of it
The Old Testament will not help us so mach in
this inquiry as the New ; for as to the bindini^ of
Jews to worship only in one place, at Jerusalem, and
to ofier only upon that altar, it was a precept purely
ceremonial, and to us Christians is vacated by that
gospel rule, which wills us to pray every where, and
their synagogues then (not their temple) were the
patterns of Christian assemblies.
Only one scripture occurs in the Old Testament,
which, perhaps, will help to rectify some mistakes
about schism. It is the instance of Eldad and Mc-
dad, who prophesied in the camp. The case in short
is this, Eldad and Medad were persons upon lirhom
Me Spirit rested, that is, who were by the extraordi-
nary working of the Spirit endued with gifts equal
to the rest of the seventy elders, and were wrrittem^
that is, had a call to the work, but they went not out
unto the tabernacle as the rest did, though God himsel f
had appointed that they should, Numb, xu 26. And
they propheiied in the eampy that is, exercised their
gifts in private among their neighbours in some com-
mon tent. Upon what inducements they did this,
does not appear, but it is evident that it was their
weakness and infirmity thus to separate from the rest
of their brethren. If any think they prophesied by a
necessitating and irresistible impulse, they n»ay re-
member that the spirit of the prophets is eub/eri to
the prophets**
• I Coc xiv 39l
THE NATURE OF SCHISM.
851
Now if some of the schismaticating doctors that
the charch had known, had but had the censuring;
of Eldad and Medad, we should soon have had a
judgment f^ven against them, much more severe
than would have been awarded to him who gathered
sticks on the sabbath-day.
And it is confessed, all the circumstances con-
sidered, it looks like a very great irregularity, espe-
cially as an infringement of the authority of Moses,
which they who prophesied in the tabernacle under
his presidency manifestly owned, and submitted to.
Well, an information was presently brought in
against them, v. 27. Eidad and Medad prophesied
IK the camp, that is, to speak in the invidious lan-
guage of the times, there is a conventicle at such a
place, and Eldad and Medad are holding forth at it.
Joshua, in bis zeal for that which he fancied to
be the church's unity, and out of concern for the
authority of Moses, brings in a bill to silence them;
for as hot as he was, he would not have them fined
and laid in the gaol for this disorder, neither ; only,
my lord Moses, forbid them ; not compel them to
come to the tabernacle, if they be not satisfied to
come, only, for the future, prohibit their schisma-
tical preaching in the camp. This seems a veiy
good notion.
But hold, Joehua, tkou knowett not what manner
of spirit thou art of, Discerqing Moses sees him
actuated by a spirit of envy, and does not only
deny, but severely reprove, the motion. Numb. xi. 29.
Etniett thou for my eahe? Would to God that
all the Lord's people were prophets, provided the
Lord will bnt put his Spirit vpon them. He is so
far from looking upon it as schism, that he does not
only tolerate, but encourage it And O that all
those who sit in Moses's chair, were bnt clothed
with this spirit of Moses.
This instance is full enough to show, that all is
not schism, which even vrise and good men are apt
to think is so.
But our special inquiry must be in the New Tes-
tament ; and forasmuch as words are the significa-
tion of things, let us see what the Scripture means
by this word schism.
The critics observe, that the Greek word l^x^oiita
is used eight times in the New Testament.
1. In a literal sense, for a rent in a garment, '^x^opa,
the rent is made worse. In the same sense Sx'C** ^^
used. As also of the rending of the vail. The
cleaving of the heavens.** But this makes little to
oor purpose.
2. It is used figuratively for a division ; and that
twofold.*
(I.) A division in apprehension; so Tx^f'^^ >"
Qsed. In which places it signifies the different
thoughts and apprehensions that the people or their
^ Matt ix l& Mark li. 21. John six. 34. Luke v. 36. Matt.
uTii. 31. Johnxxl. II. Mark 1. 10.
3 1 2
rulers had concerning Christ, some thinking well
of him, others not. Some accusing him, others ex-
cusing him.
In this sense 'Sx'^^ ^^ used, for the different senti-
ments the people had concerning Paul.'
Now this diversity of opinion, judgment, or appre-
hension, cannot be called or looked upon in itself
as a thing criminal, inasmuch as there are many
things which either because they are dark and ob-
scure, and so not capable of demonstraition, or be-
cause they are trivial and of light moment, and so
not worth a demonstration, it is no matter what
opinion men are of concerning them.
Only where the matter is weighty, and touches
the fundamentals of Christianity, there an error is
criminal, and if stubbornly persisted in, is heresy.
But the evil of it lies not in the diversity, but in
the erroneousness and danger of the opinion.
I cannot believe that the greatest worshippers of
the Diana of their own opinions, will be so sottish
as to brand those for schismatics, who in every
punctilio of opinion are not exactly of the same
standard vri th themselves.
If there be any so strangely "rigid, let not my
soul come into their secret, for I despair to see even
all the saints of a mind, in every thing, till they
come to heaven.
It does therefore evidence too great a strangeness
to the spirit of the gospel, to condemn all those
who differ from us only in their apprehensions
about little things. John's disciples were greatly
displeased because Christ's disciples did not fast
so often as they did, and quarrelled with Christ
himself about it. And the answer of the meek and
holy Jesus is worthy remark, that he gives a good
reason why his disciples did not fast, viz. Be-
cause the bridegroom was yet with them ; and yet
does not condemn John's disciples that fasted often :
which teaches us not to make our own opinions and
practices (like Procrustes's bed) the standard by
which to measure all others ; and that in such cases
we are to think it sufficient only to acquit ourselves,
first to our own consciences, and then if need be to
the world, without condemning others, who think
and practise otherwise in such little things, and
perhaps have as much reason for their thoughts
and practices as we have for ours.
(2.) A division in affiection : and in this sense it
IS used three times in the first epistle to the Cor-
inthians, and no where else in all the New Testa-
ment
We must particularly examine each place, that
thence we may be furnished with a true notion of
schism : and in plain terms, the case is whether a
diversity (or, if you call it so, a separation) of com-
munion be the/ortfiff/M ratio — due meaning of schism.
• John vif. 43. John ix. le. John x. 19.
d Acts xxiii. 7.
852
THE NATURE OF SCHISM.
I find the word, and with it, no doubt, the thing,
I beseech you brethren — that there be no divisions
(J^xifffiaTa) no schisms among you ; so reads the mar-
gin of our Bibles.
Now to find oat what this schism is, let as inqaire
into the exegetical exhortations that accompany it.
[I.] That ye all speah the same things, viz. in the
fundamental doctrines of Christianity ; for in little
things it can never be made a duty to be of the same
opinion, since it is morally impossible, but (as Estius
seems to understand it) not to break Christian cha-
rity in your disputes about them.
Observe, he does not oblige us to think the same
thing, but though your thoughts be divers, yet speak
the same thing, that is, in your preaching and con-
versation, speak of those things only wherein you
are agreed ; and for those things wherein yon differ,
do not fall out and fight about them, but love one
another notwithstanding.
[2.] That ye be perfectly joined together in the
same mind and in the same judgment. Which must
be understood of a serious endeavour after it ; for
otherwise a perfect conjunction must be reserved for
a world of everlasting perfection.
But the meaning of the exhortation seems to be,
that all their little heats and animosities should be
swallowed up in an unanimous zeal for the great
gospel truths, wherein they were all agreed.
We must inquire also into the Corinthians' mis-
carriage, which occasioned this caution, which you
have, 1 Cor. i. 11, 12. there were contentions among
them, V. 11. tpiii^. So that schisms and contentions
are one and the same thing, and it is worth noting,
that Clemens Romanus, in that famous epistle of his
to the Corinthians, still calls schisms ipc^cc — conten-
tions'
Now the contention was about their ministers ;
I am of Paul, says one ; I am of Apollos, says an-
other, &c. Now he who was of Apollos was as
much a schismatic, as he who was of Paul, because
they quarrelled and fell out about so small and in-
different a matter.
Observe, it was not so much being of Paul and
being of Apollos that made the schism; for Paul, and
Apollos, and Cephas were all theirs, (chap, iii. 22.)
but saying, / am of Paul, that is, crying him up as the
only man for them, so as to despise others. If one
went to hear Paul, and another went to hear Apol-
los, that did not make a schism, no, nor if one com-
municate with Paul, and another with Apollos ; for
why might not each go where he could be most edi-
fied ? But the schism was, that they sacrificed Chris-
tian love and charity to this difference of apprehen-
sion. This is evident in that those who said, I am
of Christ, so as to despise and censure, and quarrel
with them that said I am of Paul, ^c. are reproved
equally with the rest.
Now the way of curing this schism was not to
silence Apollos and Cephas, that whether they would
or no they might all be of Paul ; nay, it is well worth
the observing that in the same epistle we find Paul
very earnest with Apollos to go to Corinth, (xvi. 12.)
As touching Apollos, I greatly desired him to come to
you. Which he never would have done, if he had
not preferred the common interest of souls' salvation
before his own credit.
But the way to cure this was to convince them of
the folly of the quarrels, how senseless and irrational
they were ; and to persuade them to lay aside their
enmities and heart-burnings, and to love one another,
and to walk hand in hand in the same way though
they traced different paths, which they might well
do when the paths lay so very near together.
^ By this instance it appears, that narrow-spirited-
ness which confines religion and the church to our
way and party, whatever it is, to the condemning of
others who differ from us in little things, is the great
schismatising principle, which has been so much the
bane of the Christian church ; Hinc iUw iMcrymet —
hence her sorrows*
We find the word used, I hear there he Zxur/uira —
divisions among you, 1 Cor. xi. 18.
It is undeniably evident that it cannot be meant
of any breach of communion, for it is said expressly
{v. 20.) that they came together in one place, and that
into the church too, that is, the place of meeting.
But the schisms were quarrels and contentions
about some little things relating to the circumstances
of public worship ; and the quarrel seems to have
been about the time of beginning their worship,
especially when they were to join in the Lord's sup-
per, or their love-feasts : it seems they did not come
exactly at the time, therefore the apostle bids them
tarry one for another, v. 33. Those who came early
quarrelled with those who came late, for coming no
sooner ; and those who came late quarrelled with the
other, for beginning before they came.
Some quarrels of this kind were the schisms here
spoken of.
The word is used, that there he no schism in the
body.* The apostle is there carrying on a metaphor
betwixt the natural body, and the church ; and this
clause clearly relates to the natural body, for he does
not come to the reddition of the comparison till r. 27.
Now, what he means by the schism in the body, is
plain from the antithesis in the following words —
But that the members should have the same care one
for another. So that when the members care not one
for another, when the eye says to the band, I have
no need of thee ; («. 21.) when there is not a sym-
pathy and fellow-feeling among Christians, («. 26.)
here is schism.
That is schism which breaks or slackens the bond
by which the members are knit together.
• I Cor. xii. 95.
THE NATURE OF SCHISM.
853
Now, that bond is not an act of aniformity in
point of comma nion, in the same modes and cere-
monies ; but tme loye and charity in point of affec-
tion. It is charity that is the b<nui of peffectnesM :'
it is the anity of the Spirit that is the band qfpeae€f*
and schism is that which breaks this bond.
Now from all this laid together, I draw out this
description of schism, which, according to my present
apprehensions, is the tnie scripture notion of it.
" Schism is an ancharitable distance, diyision, or
alienation of affection among those who are called
Christians, and agree in the fundamentals of reli-
gion, occasioned by their different apprehensions
about little things."
This is the schism which the Scripture makes to
be a sin, and by Scripture rules it must be judged.
Schism (as indeed the root of all other sin) we see
lies in the heart and affections. The tree is known
by its fruits. The bitter root bears gall and worm-
wood. Let us therefore take a short view of those
practices, which, according to this description, are
schismatical practices.
1. Judging, censuring, and condemning those
who differ from as in little things, is a schismatical
practice, as it evidences a great alienation, if not
enmity, of the affections. Charity thinketh no evil^
w XaydUrm to mamtP — doe* not reason evil^ does not
stody to make sins, but cover them ; and if they be
made, yet not to make the worst of them, it puts
the best construction upon words and actions.
Now to pass a censorious judgment upon others,
and to put the worst construction upon what they
say and do, is certainly uncharitable, that is, schis-
matical. It is a practice often condemned in Holy
Writ ; Judge not, that ye he not judged ^ it is con-
strned 9i judging of the law}
It is especially coiidemned with reference to the
present case, of different apprehensions about little
things, in that famous scripture, (Rom. xiv. 4, 6.) a
scripture, which, if well studied and lived up to,
would heal us all. Judging the heart is, in my
estimation, one of the most uncharitable species of
judging. Censuring the principles and ends of an
action, which are secret, charging those who differ
from us with hypocrisy, is a heart sin. If the appear-
aoee be good, and the outside be justifiable, when
we conclude hypocrisy is in the heart, we step into
the throne of God.
2. Laying a greater stress upon small matters of
difference than they will bear, and widening the
breach about them. As on the one hand, to censure
all prayers by a form, or by this form in particular,
as superstition, will-worship, formality, and the like :
OD the other band, to censure all extempore praying
as babbling, canting, froth, and noise, as if God had
not accepted his own people in the one as well as
f CoL iii. 14.
f Eph. tf. 3.
the other. The fastening of a censure, and passing
of a judgment upon a whole party and way, if it be
not very clear and well-grounded indeed, will be
likely to split us upon the rock of schism and un-
charitableness.
3. Concluding hardly as to the spiritual state and
condition of those who differ from us, excluding
them out of the church, and from salvation, because
they are not just of our mind in every punctilio.
Witness that notion which excludes out of the
church, and consequently out of heaven, all those
(how orthodox and serious soever they are other-
wise) who are not in prelatical communion ; if no
diocesan bishops, then no ministers, no sacraments,
no church, no salvation ; which is certainly the most
schismatical notion that ever was broached in the
Christian world.
4. Reproaching, reviling, and railing at those
who differ from us in little things, is another schis-
matical practice ; fastening such nick-names upon
them, and loading them with such reproaches, as
carry in them all the odium that malice can infuse
into them ; dressing them up in bears' skins, and
then baiting them, doing what we can by calumnies
and misrepresentations, to alienate the affections of
others from them.
5. Making, consenting to, approving, or execut-
ing of penal laws against those who differ from us
in little things, to punish them for such difference
in their persons, estates, or liberties, is another un-
charitable or schismatical practice.
This is contention with a witness ; which aims at
no less than the ruin of a person contended with,
in the dearest of his secular interests ; to beat out
his brains, because his head is not exactly of our
size.
6. Separation from communion with those that we
have joined ourselves to, without cause ; give me
leave to call it separation for separation sake, with-
out any regard had to any thing amiss in the church
we separate from, or any thing better in that we
join ourselves to. This is an evidence of an un-
charitable alienation of affection, and is consequent-
ly schismatical, wh^n we quite cast off communion
with our brethren, out of ambition, animosity to
their persons, affectation of novelty and singularity,
or the like.
This was manifestly the case of the Donatists,
the infamous schismatics of the primitive church.
Their principles were, that the church of Christ was
to be found no where but in their sect, and all other
churches were no churches ; that true baptism was
not administered but among them ; and a great
many barbaious outrages they committed in the heat
of their separation.
7. An affected strangeness, or distance in commu-
h aiatt. vii. 1.
1 James iv. il, 12.
854
THE NATURE OF SCHISM.
nion or conversation, from those who thus differ
from us, upon the account of such difference, avoid-
ing conversation and familiarity with them, carrying
it strangely towards them, only because they do not
wear the dividing name of our party.
This evidences an uncharitable alienation of affec-
tion prevailing in the heart, and is consequently
schismatical.
Many such like practices might easily be men-
tioned, if it were needful; but they are obvious
enough, especially if we look into the laws of cha-
rity : (1 Cor. xiii. 4 — ^7.) and remember that all trans-
gression of those laws is uncharitableness, and when
that is found in the things of religion, it is schism.
The corollary from the whole is this, that whoever
they be that allow themselves in these and the like
practices and affections towards their brethren, who
differ from them in little things, whether they be
Episcopal, Presbyterian, Independent, or by what
name or title soever they are self-dignified and dis-
tinguished, they are so far schismatical, inasmuch as
they break the great law of Christian charity.
Let us now try what inference may be drawn from
the Scripture notion of schism.
1. If this be schism, then is it not within the line
of any human power to make that separation to be
schismatical, which was not so in itself. By the
description given of schism, it does appear to be a
thing, malum in Me — evil in ittelf, which was not so
before ; an attempt of that kind would sink with its
own weight. And therefore it is well worthy obser-
vation, that when the parliament made a law against
conventicles, (which are the great schismatical eye-
sores,) they called it an act to prevent and suppress
seditious conventicles, knowing it to be within their
line to declare a thing to be sedition ; but not schis-
matical conventicles, for that was a thing in which
they could not concern themselves.
2. If this be schism, then the guilt of it is to be
looked for in particular persons, and is not to be
charged by wholesale upon parties of any denomina-
tion whatsoever ; as among us at this day in the pre-
latical party there are some schismatical, and others
not ; and the same is to be said of the separating
party ; nay, who is there who can say, *' I have made
my heart clean, I am pure from this sin ?" Have we
not all need to pray. From envy, hatred, and malicey
and all uncharitableness, (which are the ingredients
of schism,) jTood Lord, deliver us, both from the guilty
and from the power, of it ? It is not so much our
differences themselves, as the mismanagement of our
differences, that is the bane of the church, burning
up Christian love with the fire of our contentions.
Whence come these wars and fightings ? Come they
not hence, even from our lusts ? ^ And those who say
they are perfectiy free from these warfaring schis-
k Jam. iv. I.
matic lusts, must give me leave to say, I doubt they
deceive themselves, and the truth is not in them.
3. If this be schism, then there may be schism
where there is no separation of communion ; that is
plain from the instance of the Corinthians, who came
together into one place, and yet are blamed for being
schismatical. Bringing people to one place will
never cure a schism, till they are brought to be of
one accord.
Yon may bind the leopard, and lay him down by
the lamb, and yet the enmity remain as great as ever,
except there be ai^ inward change.
A quarrel about little things may likewise be
schismatical -on one side, and not on the other. Je-
remiah was a man of strife and contention,^ that is, a
man striven and contended with, and yet no schis-
matic ; though ordinarily (as it is commonly said of
domestic differences) there are faults more or less
on both sides.
4. If this be schism, then there may be separation
of communion where there is no schism. For thus
we all agree, that there may be a difference of ap-
prehension, and yet no schism ; provided it do not
eat out Christian love, but be managed amicably, as
between the Arminians and Calvinists, in the chureh
of England, and divers the like.
Now if this difference of apprehension relate to
worship or communion, and the modes or tenns
thereof, there cannot but be a strong inclination to
separate in whole or in part, according as the differ-
ence of apprehension is ; for do what we can, as long
as we are rational creatures, the understanding will
have the directing of the will.
Now surely this separation, (if we must call it so,)
or rather, this variety and diversity of worship and
communion y may be managed without schism, pro-
vided Christian love and charity be kept entire not-
withstanding.
For can any imagine that a difference of appre-
hension, in regard of worship and discipline, should
be more schismatical than difference of apprehension
in doctrine ; since, of the two, doctrinal truths seem
more essential to Christianity ?
But to come a little closer. The meetings of the
dissenters (though now, blessed be God, permitted
and allowed of by the law of the land, yet) are
commonly charged with being schismatical. The
great outcry is, that we leave the chureh ; and the
unthinking mobile, who are so well taught as to
know no other churehes but the public places of
worship, are easily induced to believe it ; as if it
were schism to worship God any where else, let the
worship there be what it will.
Those who will allow themselves the liberty of an
unprejudiced thought, cannot but see the difference
so small, that as long as we believe the same Chris-
■
I Jcr. XV. 10.
THE NATURE OF SCHISM.
855
tian Taitb, and agree in the same protestant abhor-
rence of papal delasiona, wo may easily be looked
upon as one and the same church, as well as two
several pariah churches may, especially being united
under the care and protection of one protestant
kiog, and members of the same protestant common-
wealth.
(1.) I do from the bottom of my soul detest and
abhor all separation from the parish churches to
atheism, irreligton, and sensuality, (who separate
tkemselveSf sensual/*^) who forsake the church to go
to the alehouse or tavern, or to their secular busi-
ness, or to their slothful neas and laziness, to sepa-
rete unto that shame.' And if this separation had
been more animadverted upon than it has been of
late, probably the cure of schism would have been
sooner effected thereby, than by severities that have
been used against conscientious separatists.
(3.) I do likewise abhor all schismatical, that is,
oneharitable, proud, censorious, rigid separation ;
sQch separation as theirs who condemn the parish
churches as no parts of the visible church, who rail
at ministers as Babylonish and antichristian : this
is a horrid breach of the law of Christian love, and
that which every good heart cannot but rise at the
thoughts of.
And yet I cannot but say, and am satisfied in it,
that there may be a lawful and justifiable separation,
^though I would rather call it a diversity of commu-
nion from the parish churches,) which I shall cndea-
Tourto clear in three cases.
[I.] If my own conscience be not satisfied in the
lawfulness of any terms of communion imposed, as
far as I fall under that imposition, I may justify a
separation from them, and a joining with other
churches, where I may be freed from that imposi-
tion, provided that this be not done schismatically,
that is, with heat and bitterness, and alienation of
Christian affection. And I hope none that have the
law of Christ written in their hearts will say, that it
is impossible tmly to love those with whom I am
not satisfied to join in all the ordinances, for the
sake of some ceremonies, with which, after all my
study, prayer, and conversation, I cannot be satis-
fied.
So, if I be a minister, and as such obliged to
preach the gospel, yet kept out from the public ex-
ercise of my ministry by such terms and conditions,
oaths and sabscriptions, as I judge sinful ; in such
a case surely it is lawful for me, with Eldad and
Medad, to- prophesy in the camp, since in my judg-
ment the door of the tabernacle is made narrower
than my Master has appointed it to be made. What
should hinder but that, as a minister of Christ, I may
administer all the ordinances, according to Christ's
institution,, to those who are willing to join with me,
m Jude 10.
and put themselves under my conduct (such as it is)
in those administrations? If God has given though
but one talent, it must be traded with, or else there
will be an uncomfortable reckoning shortly, espe-
cially when we look abroad, and consider how the
apparent necessity of precious souls call for our
utmost diligence in our Master's work ; and indeed
there is work enough for us all, if God would give
us hearts to be serious and unanimous in it.
In this also it is always provided, that my agency
in a ministerial station be not made schismatical by
my heat, passion, and bitterness ; but that I live in
true love and charity with those whom by roason of
the impositions I cannot, salva conseientia — with a
pure conscience, join with in communion.
[2.] Though I be satisfied in the lawfulness of the
terms of communion required, and so when purer
administrations are not to be had, may, rather tlian
live in a total want of the ordinances, comply with
them, yet when I have an opportunity of enjoying
those ordinances in a way which I judge more puro
and scriptural, or which I think moro lively and
edifying, and more likely to attain the great end of
all ordinances, and that contribute more to my
comfort and holiness, and communion with God ; in
such a case I cannot see but that I may lawfully
have recourse to such administrations, though there-
by I may seem to separate from another church,
wherein before I had joined, and for which I still
retain a very charitable opinion and affection. If
the magistrate should be so unreasonable as to im-
pose upon me an unskilful physician, to be alone
made use of in case of sickness, I might take him
rather than none ; but if there be another, who, I
am sure, has more skill and will to help me, I think
I should be accessary to the ruin of my health and
life, if I should not make use of him, notwithstand-
ing such an inhibition.
And is not the life, and health, and salvation of
my immortal soul dearer to me than any other con-
cern ? Is not communion with God the sweetest and
most precious of all my delights ? Is it not the life
of my soul, and the crown of all my joys ? And are
not those administrations most desirable in which I
find myself most edified ? Must I then be such an
enemy to my own comfort and happiness, as to throw
away all opportunities which I might have of that
kind, only in a compliment? Amietu Socrates^
amicus Plato^ sed magis arnica Veritas — Socrates is
my friend, Plato is my friend, but truth is my best
ft*iend. The bishops are my friends, and the minis-
ters my friends, and I have a true love for them, but
charity begins at home, especially when my pre-
cious soul, more worth than all the world, lies at
stake.
This case is somewhat the clearer in those parishes
B Ho8.ix. 10.
856
THE NATURE OF SCHISM.
where the pablic ministers are either ignorant, pro-
fane, or malignant
[3.] Nay, suppose I am so well satisfied in com-
munion with the parish churches in all administra-
tions, as not to desire better, or not to expect better,
in the dissenters' meetings, yet I cannot see what
schism, that is, what breach of Christian love and
charity, there is in it, for me to be present sometimes
in the congregations of the sober dissenters, and to
join with them who worship the same God, in the
name of the same Mediator, read and preach the
same word, and live in hopes of the same inheritance,
and differ from me only in some little things which
I think not worth contending for, scarce worth the
mentioning ; hereby to evidence my universal love
and catholic charity, and that I am not of narrow,
schismatical, dividing principles, nor one who will
sacrifice Christian love to the petty trifling fancies
and interests of a party.
The sober dissenters are such as I have reason to
hope have communion with God in what they do,
and therefore why should not I now and then have
communion with them? In every nation he that
fears God, and warhs righteousness, is accepted of him ;
and why should he not be accepted of me ? Why may
not I have fellowship with them who have fellowship
with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ^ To
fancy schism, that is, uncharitable contention and
a breach of Christian love, in this is very absurd.
Obj. But hereby I encourage a schism, and coun-
tenance them in their separation from that which in
my estimation is lawful and good, and does not give
just cause for such a separation.
Answ. There must be grains of allowance for dif-
ference of apprehension, different capacities, con-
stitutions, and inclinations ; custom, and especially
education, must be put into the scale ; and while I
walk according to the light which God has given
me, I must charitably believe that others do so to.
Whether the dissenters' meetings be as to the
constitution of them (looking upon them only as di-
versities of communion) schismatical, has been con-
sidered already, and found otherwise by Scripture
light.
The common outcry is, that it is the setting up of
altar against altar : which is not so ; for at the most
it is but altar by altar; and though I have often
read of one body, and one Spirit, and one hope,
and one Lord, and one faith, and one baptism, and'
one God and Father,? yet I could never find a word
• 1 John 1. 3.
p Eph. iv. 4~«.
in all the New Testament of one altar,*i except Jesus
Christ, the altar that sanctifies every gift, in whom
we all centre. And if there be any of the dissenters
who are schismatical, that is, contentious, bitter, and
uncharitable in their separation, let them bear their
own burthen, but by my presence with them I encou-
rage that in them, no more than I do too mach of a
like spirit in too many of those who are called the
church-of-England men, by my adherence to them.
To conclude. By all this it is evident that anity of
affection is the thing to be laboured after, more than
uniformity in modes and ceremonies. We have
been long enough trying to root schism out of the
church, oi et armis — by impositions, fines, and penal-
ties, choking our brethren, because their Uiroats
have not been so wide as ours. And it has been
found ineffectual, even in the judgment of oar ^reat
Sanhedrim, who have declared that " giving ease to
scrupulous consciences is the likeliest way to unite
their Majesty's protestant subjects in interest and
affection." What if we should now try another
method, and turn the stream of our endeavours into
another channel ? Hitherto we have been as it were
striving which should hate one another moat ; what
if we should now strive which should love one ano-
ther best, and be most ready to do all offices of tme
charity and kindness, and buty all our little fends
and animosities in that blessed grave of Christian
love and charity ?
What if we should every one of us, of each party,
(as we have been too often called,) set oorselves by
our preaching to promote and propagate the gospel
oi peace, and by our prayers to prevail with God for
a more plentiful pouring out of the Spirit of peace,
that the dividing names of Baalim may be taken out
of our mouths, and that, however it goes with uni-
formity of ceremony, we may keep the unity of the
Spirit? And then I doubt not but that we should soon
see our English Jerusalem established a praise in
the midst of the earth.
And yet I am afraid even saints will be men ; there
will be remainders even of those corruptions which
are the seed of schism, in the best, till we all (x>n[ie
to the perfect man.
And that is the comfort of my soul, that if we can
but once get to heaven, we shall be for ever out of
the noise and hurry of this quarrelsome, contentions,
dividing world, and the church triumphant shall be
no more militant, but that happy world of everlast-
ing light will be a world of everlasting love.
q Heb. xiii. 10.
THE LAY-MAN'S REASONS
FOR HIS
JOINING IN STATED COMMUNION WITH
A CONGREGATION OF MODERATE DISSENTERS.
My case, in short, is this. I am horn in a Christian
nation, and baptized into the Christian faith ; and I
reckon it my unspeakable honour and happiness
that I am so, and diat I live in the times of reform-
ation. In this nation, wherever I am, I find public
assemblies for religious worship, all agreeing to
worship the same God, in the name of the same
Mediator, under the conduct and influence of the
same Spirit, according to the rule of the same
Scriptures, holding communion with the universal
charch in faith, hope, and love, under the presi-
dency of gospel ministers, by the same ordinances
of the word, sacraments, and prayer, looking for the
same blessed hope. All these assemblies concur, in
their testimony, not only against Jews, Pagans, and
Mahometans abroad, but against atheists, infidels,
and profane at home; and likewise in their pro-
testation against the tyranny and idolatry of the
church and coart of Rome.
Bat I find there is some difference among these
Christian assemblies. Though all good Christians
are one in Christ by faith, and one with each other
hj holy love, yet in outward and lesser things I ob-
ierve they do not all agree. And it is no surprise
to me that they do not ; for I know that the best are
imperfect in this world. I find some of these as-
semblies, and, indeed, far the greatest number,
established and appointed by an act of parliament at
the time of the happy restoration, 14 Car. 2. The
ministers presiding in these assemblies, ordained by
bishops, usually presented by lay-patrons, and to
the great advantage of their ministry, dignified, and
hoDourably provided for, by the civil government.
The ordinances administered in these assemblies ac-
cording to the book of Common Prayer, and the
discipline managed by the chancellor of the diocese,
and his court.
I find some few of these assemblies permitted and
allowed by another act of parliament, twenty-seven
years after the former, at the time of the late glori-
ous revolution, 1 William and Mary. The ministers
presiding in them ordained by presb3^ers, chosen by
the people, and though taken under the protection,
yet destitute of the authority and support, of the
civil powers. The ordinances administered in them
not by a set, prescribed, constant form, but by the
rule of the Scripture in general, and according to
the measure of the gift given to him that ministers.
The discipline managed by the minister himself,
who presides in other ordinances, with the advice
and concurrence* of the congregation. Providence
has so cast my lot, and appointed the bounds of my
habitation, that assemblies of both these kinds are
within my reach.
And, through the grace of God, I think I can
truly say, this is my character. I am heartily con-
cerned about my soul, and my everlasting condition :
it is my care and desire to please God, and to work
out my salvation. Ail other interests and concerns
are nothing to me, in comparison with this. I se-
riously profess I am afraid of sin, and am solicitous
to be found in the way of my duty, and to get all
the help I can to forward me toward heaven, and to fit
me for it. Hereunto I can add this further protest-
ation, that, through the grace of God, I have a ca-
tholic charity for all good Christians. I cannot
monopolize the church ; it is narrow enough, I dare
not make it narrower : I love a good man, whatever
party he belongs to, and him who follows Christ,
though he does not follow with me. He that fears
Godf and works righteousness y is accepted of God, and
shall be accepted by me. My practice is this. I
join myself sometimes with the assemblies of the
public establishment, if any opportunity offers itself
on a week day ; or if I happen on the Lord's day to
be out of the reach of such assemblies as I choose
858
REASONS FOR JOINING WITH DISSENTERS.
statedly to join with, I freely and cheerfally attend
tlie divine service of the church, knowing nothing
in the prayers but what I can heartily say Amen to,
which I choose rather to do, than to answer aload
after the minister. And this I do, that I may testify
the catholic charity, and my communion with, and
affection to, all good Christians, though I be not in
every thing of their mind. Hereby, likewise, I
endeavour to fulfil all righteousness, and, in my
place, I bear my testimony to that which is of God
in the public establishment, wherein I do rejoice,
and will rejoice.
But I constantly join in all the ordinances with a
congregation of moderate and sober dissenters : with
them I hold stated communion ; and with them, after
many serious and impartial thoughts, have put my-
self under the ministerial conduct and inspection
of a preacher or teacher allowed, though not autho-
rized by the law of the land ; but one who is mani-
fested in my conscience to be a true and faithful
minister of Jesus Christ.
The reasons why I choose my settled communion
with the dissenters, are these six, which abundantly
satisfy my own conscience at present, not judging
other men's consciences, nor knowing what further
light God may hereafter give me in this matter.
1. I think it is my duty to own and adhere to that
ministry which seems to me to be wrongfully and
injuriously excluded from the public establishment;
and the exclusion of which was professedly intended
and designed by the Act of Uniformity. By making
such oaths, declarations, and subscriptions, the
indispensable terms of their admission into the
ministry, or continuance in it, as they coufd not
comply with, without sinning against their con-
sciences, they were and are effectually shut out from
the public establishment. This I take to be a wrong
both to them who are well worthy of the church's
double honours, and to the church which stands in
need of, and would be greatly benefited by, their
useful labours. I therefore think that I ought, in
my place, both to bear my testimony against the
exclusion of them, (lest I should partake with other
men's sins, and should be found to have laid a con-
federacy with those who put so many burning shining
lights under a bushel,) and also to aid, assist, and
encourage those who are so excluded ; putting my
soul into their soul's stead, and then doing as I would
be done by. Were I a minister, I must be shut out
as they are, and should expect to be countenanced
in suffering for conscience sake ; and therefore can-
not but countenance them. And this is that which
I verily believe most men will do when it comes to be
their own case, whatever they talk when they are
uppermost. Those who, at any time, have thought
themselves unjustly restrained from the public exer-
cise of their ministry, have ever yet thought them-
selves obliged to exercise it in private as they could,
and their friends obliged to stand by them in it ;
and so I believe they ever will.
2. 1 think it is my duty to choose rather statedly to
join in those administrations, which come nearest to
the divine institution, than in those which have in
them an unnecessary mixture of human invention.
How far men may lawfully devise and use cere-
monies of their own, under pretence of beautifying
God's ordinances, and edifying themselves and
others, I pretend not to be a competent judge : but
to me it seems very plain, that the ordinances of
Christ are purer, and look better, without them ; and
that those who make the Scripture only their rale,
and admit nothing into their worship but what is
warranted by it, are to be preferred much before
those who practise many things in their stated public
worship, which they do not produce any ground or
warrant for in the Holy Scripture. To me it seems
much better in baptism, only to wash a child with
water, in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
in token that he shall not be ashamed to confess
Christ crucified, which is Christ's institution, than,
besides that, in token of the same thing, to sign him
with the sign of the cross ; and in the Lord's supper,
to use the gesture Christ's disciples used, rather
than another devised by men. Having chosen the
Scripture for the standing rule of my faith and
practice, I choose to have communion with those
who seem to me to keep most closely to it.
3. 1 think it is my duty to choose rather statedly
to join with those who assert and maintain the
liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, than with
those who willingly submit to the impositions of
men in the things of God, and justify those impo-
sitions. I am very well satisfied, that when my Re-
deemer, in kindness to his church, broke the yoke
of that ceremonial law, which was given by Moses,
he did not leave it in the power of any man, or
company of men, in the world, to make another like
yoke, and lay that upon the necks of the disciples.
I doubt not but there is a power in the Christian
magistrates, or other governors of the church, to
restrain and correct natural indecencies in any of
the necessary circumstances of public worship ; as
time, place, habit, or gesture : and that, in any of
these, which unavoidably renders the administration
of the ordinances either despicable, or inconvenient,
or unprofitable, to tliose who attend upon them. Bat
I see nothing in the gospel which warrants any
governors, civil or sacred, to impose such habits
and gestures as they please (because they think them
decent) upon those who think them incongruous:
and then, to make the use of them the indispensable
condition of their communion. In the religious
assemblies of the dissenters I observe, that generally
every thing is done with the gravity and decorum
that becomes the solemnity there performed : I see
no uncouth habits, I hear no noisy responses, but all
REASONS FOR JOINING WITH DISSENTERS.
850
tilings are managed decently, and in order, with
rcTerence, and to edification : and yet no ceremonies
are imposed, no terms of commonion made, which
Christ has not made ; no days made holy, bat that
which God has made so; no stress laid apon the
lioiiness of places, which the New Testament gives
not the least hint of since the destruction of the tem-
ple ; and therefore I choose to join with them; for
where the Spirit of the Lard is, there is liherty. Their
ministers are not tied np to any one prescribed form
of prayer, bat are at liberty to vary and enlarge ac-
cording to the improvements of their knowledge, and
warmth of their devotion, and the case of those
wb<Me moath they are in prayer : And, as I think,
every minister ought to have some competent mea-
sure of the gift of prayer, as well as preaching ; and
that otherwise he is not duly qualified ; so, I think,
having that ability, he ought not to be abridged of
his liberty to use it ; especially not in the adminis-
tration of sacraments. AU things are iawfidfor me ;
but 1 will not he hrought under the power of any ^
4. I think it is my duty to choose rather to join
with those^ who refuse to admit into the communion
with them such as are openly vicious and profane,
than with those who, being under an unhappy obli-
gation to administer the Lord's supper to all in office,
and to transfer the trial of all suspensions to the
bishop's court, cannot possibly use so strict a disci-
pline. Not that I think I am ever the worse for bad
people's joining with me in the Lord's supper, but
perhaps they are the worse for my joining with them ;
and I would not be accessary to the hardening of
them in their impieties. I do not expect to meet
with any society of Christians perfectly pure on this
side heaven ; there are spots, I know, in our feasts
of charity; but I must prefer those who appear to
me either to be more pure from the mixture of cor-
rupt members, or at least more solicitous and desir-
ous to be so, and more capable of being so by their
own constitution. I have seen, with much satisfac-
tion, many of the church of England zealous against
vice and profaneness, and active for the suppressing
of it, and have a mighty value and veneration for
them apon that account ; and wish their constitution
would allow them to do more, by church-censures,
in prosecution of that worthy design than I appre-
hend it will. But for that pious zeal of theirs, I
have so often heard them called presbyterians by
those who are bigots for episcopacy and the cere-
monies, that I confess it has made me love the pres-
byterians the better, since zeal against profaneness
enters so much into their character, even their ene-
mies themselves being judges.
5. I think it is my duty to choose rather to join
with those churches, whose constitution leaves room
for a catholic and comprehensive charity, than with
• I Cor. vL 13.
those whose avowed principles and sentiments force
them to monopolize the church in England to them-
selves, and forbid them to own the dissenting minis-
ters as true ministers, and their churches as true
churches. This, I confess, has a mighty influence
on me. The sober dissenting ministers, as I am ac-
quainted with them, are manifest in my conscience
to be faithful ministers of Jesus Christ ; and in their
administrations I cannot but see the institution of
ordinances observed, and every thing well fitted to
answer the end of them. I know many who con-
stantly attend in their assemblies, and have observed
them to be sound in their principles, sober in their
lives, honeA in their dealings, constant in their de«
votions, and in all instances to have given undeni*
able proof of their being sincere good Christians.
When, therefore, in the books and sermons that
plead for the church of England, I find these minis-
ters censured and condemned as usurpers, impostors,
and lay-intruders ; all their administrations nulled,
their assemblies denied to be parts of the catholic
church, all who join with them sentenced as schis-
matics to the pit of hell, and no hopes of salvation
given them, but what God's general mercy allows to
moral heathens ; and all the reformed churches, that
have no bishops, falling so far under the same cen-
sure, that their ministers cannot be admitted minis-
ters of the church of England, unless they be re-
ordained, while those who have been popish priests
may; and all these harsh censures excused from
uncharitableness with this, that they cannot help it,
their principles lead them to it : then, think I, the
Lord deliver me from such principles, and from that
pretended unity, which is destructive of real charitfr.
On the other side, I find the dissenters willingly
owning the established churches as true chtlrches,
their ministers as true ministers, their principles
leading them to do so. I often hear them, in their
public assemblies, pray for them, and for their suc-
cess in their ministry, and profess their communion
with them in faith, hope, and love ; and in their
common conversation, I hear them speak of them
with love and respect. My judgment and inclination
lead me to the charitable side, as the best and safest ;
and by all I have read and heard in this controversy,
that appears to me to be the side of the dissenters.
6. I think it is my duty to attend on those admi-
nistrations which I find to be most for my edification
in faith, holiness, and comfort, and best (with me)
to answer the ends of holy ordinances. Herein I
hope I may be allowed to judge for myself. I have
often tried both ; and if I know my own heart, with-
out prejudice or partiality, I must say, that I have
found my heart more affected* and enlarged in those
confessions, prayers, and thanksgivings, which have
been offered up without a stated prescribed form,
860
REASONS FOR JOINING WITH DISSENTERS.
than ever it was in those that have been invariably
tied up to certain words. Far be it from me to make
comparison of men's abilities and performances:
I greatly honour and value the g^fts and labours of
many who are in the public establishment ; but, to
my capacity, the dissenters' praying and preaching
is most adapted, and most profitable ; and those I
am to reckon the best gifts, and to covet earnestly,
which I find by experience best for me. Sabbath-
time is precious ; and I would willingly improve it
so as will be most for my advantage in keeping my
communion with God, and preparing for heaven. If
it be owing to my own weakness that these adminis-
trations are most agreeable to me, yet Vhilc I sin-
cerely design God's glory, and my own spiritual
benefit therein, I trust, through Christ, that God
will not only forgive me, but accept me, and that
they also who are strong, will bear with my infirmi-
ties.
These are the principles I go upon, and from them
I conclude,
(1.) That if the present dictate of my conscience
and practical judgment be, that it is my duty to
choose my stated communion with the congregations
of dissenters, then it is my sin if I do not do it ; for
to him (hat knows to do good, and doth it not, to him
it is sin,
(2.) Then, by occasional communion with the
church of England, whereby I design to testify roj
charity and catholic communion, and my approba-
tion of that in it which is good, I do not in the leasl
condemn my stated communion with the dissenters ^
for though I am not convinced that it is a sin oi
commission at any time to join with the established
church, nor that any thing in itself unlawfal is re«
quired as the condition of lay-communion, yet, upon
the grounds aforesaid, I am fully convinced it i^Fould
be a sin of omission not to join with the dissenters
I will not condemn any thing that is good, vrhen i
better is not in my reach ; but when it is, I tbink ]
am obliged, in duty to God, and in concern for mj
own soul, to prefer it. All things are laxfulfor n^e^
hut all things edifg not.
(3.) Then, in all this, I am far from jad|png^ and
censuring those who differ from me. I walk, ac-
cording to my present light, preferring that which 1
think and find to be best ; and I verily believe thosi
good Christians who, I know, constantly join vrit^
the public establishment do so too, preferring^ thai
which they think and find to be the best ; and botli
they and I (I trust) are accepted of God. To thos<
who condemn me herein, I shall only offer that rea^
sonable demand of St. Paul : If any man tmsi u
himself that he is Christ's, let him of kimseif tAini
this again^ thstt as he is Chrisfs, even so are v^
Chrisfs.*'
b 8 Cor. X.7.
A PLAIN
CATECHISM FOR CHILDREN.
Introduction.
I SHOULD not have thought of drawing np, much
less of pabliflhiDg, this little Catechism, with its
Appendix, if I bad not been solicited to it by some
of my friends, whose judgment and advice I have
a great deal of reason to put a value upon.
The children into whose hands it is designed to
be put, are supposed to have learned the creed, the
Lord's prayer, and the ten commandments, those
first forms of sound words ; and then perhaps some
time spent in this, may prepare them afterwards to
improve by the falness and accuracy of the Astetn-
hley*t Catechism, with which this does very little in-
terfere, and which therefore, I hope, it will not be
SQspected of a design to supersede.
Whether such a catechism as this be so needful,
u some have said they think it is, I know not.
However, I hope it may be useful to some ; and
therefore I am willing to let it go abroad ; and the
blessing of heaven go along with it
It is God's promise, that all shall hnow himyfrom
tie least even to the greatest. That that promise
may be fulfilled, and all pious endeavours, for the
propagating of Christian knowledge, crowned with
soccess, is my heart's desire and prayer.
July 7th, 1703.
Matth. Henry.
PART I.
Of God and the Scriptures,
Q. 1. What must you do in the days of your youth ?
A. I must remember my Creator. Q. 2. Who is
Toor Creator ? A- The great God, who made the
world. Q. 3. Who is your Preserver? A. The same
Go<i, who made me, preserves and maintains me ;
and in him I live, and move, and have my being.
Q. 4. What are you made and maintained for? A.
To glorify God. Q. 5. What do you believe con-
cerning this God ? A. I believe that he is an infinite
and eternal Spirit, most wise and powerful, holy,
just, and good. Q. 6. How many gods are there?
A. There is but one God. Q. 7. How many persons
are there in the godhead ? A. Three : the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost ; and these three are one.
Q. 8. What is your duty to this God as your Crea-
tor? A. It is my duty to fear and honour him, to
worship and obey him, and in all my ways to trust
in him, and to please him. Q. 9. What is the rule of
your faith and obedience ? A. The Holy Scriptures
of the Old and New Testament, which we call the
Bible. Q. 10. What is the excellency of that book ?
A. It is the word of God. Q. 11. What use will it
be of to you ? A. It is able to make me wise to
salvation.
PART II.
Cf our Misery by Sin, and our Redemption hy Christ,
Q. 12. Who were your first parents ? A. Adam and
Eve, from whom we are all descended. Q. 13.
What condition did God create them in ? A. Holy
and happy. Q. 14. How did they lose their holi-
ness and happiness? A. By their disobedience to
the command of God, in eating the forbidden fruit.
Q. 15. What condition are we all born in? A. Sin-
ful and miserable. Q. 16. How do you perceive
your condition to be by nature sinful ? A. Because
I find I am naturally prone to that which is evil,
and backward to that which is good ; and foolish-
ness is bound up in my heart. Q. 17. How do you
perceive your condition to be by nature miserable ?
A. Because I find myself liable to many troubles in
this life ; and the Scripture tells me, I am by nature
a child of wrath. Q. 18. What would become of
you then without a Saviour ? A. I should be Cer-
tainly lost and undone for ever. Q. 19. Who is it
that saves us out of this sad condition 7 A. Our Lord
862
A CATECHISM FOR CHILDREN.
JesQS Christ, the only Mediator between God and
man. Q. 20. Who was Jesas Christ? A. The
eternal Son of God. Q. 21. What did he do to re-
deem and save us ? A. He took our nature upon
him, and became man. Q. 22. What life did he
live in that nature ? A. A life of perfect holiness,
leaving us an example. Q. 23. What doctrine did
he preach ? A. A true and excellent doctrine, con-
cerning God and himself, and another world. Q.
24. What miracles did he work to confirm his doc-
trine ? A. He healed the sick with a word ; raised
the dead, cast out devils, and many other the like.
Q. 25. What .death did he die ? A. The cursed
death of the cross, to satisfy for our sins, and to re-
concile us to God. Q. 26. What became of him
after he was dead? A. He arose again from the
dead on the third day, and ascended up into heaven.
Q. 27. Where is he now ? A. He is at the right
hand of God, where he ever lives, making interces-
sion for us, and has all power both in heaven and
earth. Q. 28. When will he come again ? A. He
will come again in glory at the last day to judge the
world.
PART III.
Concerning Baptism and the Covenant of Grace,
Q. 29. What relation do you stand in to the Lord
Jesus ? A. I am one of his disciples ; for I am a
baptized Christian. Q. 30. Into whose name were
you baptized ? A. Into the name of the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost. Q. 31. What was the
meaning ofyour being so baptized? A. I was there-
by given up in a covenant way, to Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost. Q. 32. What was the covenant which
was signified and sealed in your baptism ? A. The
covenant of grace made with us in Jesus Christ
Q. 33. What is the sum of that covenant? A. That
God will be in Christ to us a God, and we must be
to him a people. Q. 34. How then must yon take
the Lord for your God ? A. I must take God the
Father for my chief good, and highest end ; God the
Son, for my Prince and Saviour ; and God the Holy
Ghost, for my Sanctifier, Guide, and Comforter. Q.
35. How must you give up yourself to him to be one
of his people ? A. I must deny all ungodliness, and
worldly, fleshly lusts, and roust resolve to live
soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world,
looking for the blessed hope. Q. 36. What are the
three great blessings promised in this covenant ? A.
The pardon of sin, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and
eternal life. Q. 37. What are the two great con-
ditions of this covenant ? A. Repentance towards
God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.
Q. ^. What is it to repent of your sins ? A. It is
to be sorry that I have offended God, in what I have
done amiss, and to do so no more. Q. 39. What is
it to believe in Jesus Christ ? A. It is to receive
him, and to rely upon him as my Prophet, Priest,
and King, and to give up myself to be ruled, and
taught, and saved by him.
PART IV.
Concerning our Duty to God, Ourselves^ and ovr
Neighbour,
Q. 40. How must you evidence the sincerity of yonr
faith and repentance ? A.' By a diligent and con-
scientious obedience to all God's commandments.
Q. 41. What is the first and g^eat commandment ?
A. To love God with all my heart Q. 42. What is
the second, which is like unto it? A. To love my
neighbour as myself, and to show it, by doing as I
would be done by. Q. 43. What is the honour you
owe to God's name ? A. I must never take his name
in vain ; but must always make mention of it with
reverence and seriousness. Q. 44. What is the hon-
our you owe to God's word ? A. I must read it and
hear it with diligence and attention : I must medi-
tate upon it, believe, and frame my life according to
it. Q. 45. What is the honour yon owe to God in
his providence ? A. I must receive all his mercies
with thankfulness, and I must bear all afflictions
with patience, and submission to his holy will. Q.
46. What is the honour you owe to the Lord's day?
A. I must keep the sabbath holy to God, by a dili-
gent performance of the religions duties of the day,
both public and private, not speaking my own
words, nor doing my own works on that day. Q.
47. How must you honour God in prayer ? A. I
must every day, by solemn prayer, seek the favoar
of God, and give unto him the glory due unto his
name. Q. 48. In whose name must you pray ? A.
In the name of Jesus Christ only. Q. 49. What must
you pray for ? A. For mercy to pardon, and grace to
help in time of need. Q. 50. What else must you
do in your prayers ? A. I must confess my sins, and
give God praise for his goodness to mc. Q. 51.
What must be your daily care concerning yonr own
soul ? A. I must take care that my heart be not
lifted up with pride, nor disturbed with anger, or
any sinful passion. Q. 52. What must be your care
concerning your body ? A. I must take care that it
be not defiled by intemperance, uncleanness, or any
fleshly lusts. Q. 53. What must be your care con-
cerning your words ? A. I must never tell a lie, nor
mock at any body, nor call nick-names, nor speak
any filthy words. Q. 54. What is your duty to your
parents and governors ? A. I must reverence and
obey them in the Lord ; I must thankfully receive
their instructions, and submit to their rebukes, and
labour in every thing to be a comfort to them. Q.
65. What is your duty to the poor ? A. I must pity,
help, and relieve them, according to my ability,
A CATECHISM FOR CHILDREN.
863
Q. 56. What is year daty to all men ? 'A. I most
render to all their daes ; I mast be honest and just
in all my dealings; I most be respectful to my
friends, and forgive my enemies, and speak evil of
no man. Q. 67. How are yon able to perform this
doty? A. Not in any strength of my own, but in
the strength of the grace of Jesns Christ, which I
must ask of God for his sake. Q. 58. What must
you do when you find you come short of this duty ?
A. I must renew my repentance, and pray to God
for pardon in the blood of Christ, and be careful to
do my duty better for the time to come. Q. 59.
What eni^oaragement have yon thus to live in the
fear of God ? A. If I do so, I shall certainly be
happy both in this world, and in that to come.
PART V.
Concerning the Future State,
Q. eo. What will become of yon shortly? A. I
most shortly die, and leave this world. Q. 61. What
becomes of the body at death ? A. It returns to the
earth, to be raised to life again at the day of judg-
ment. Q. 62. What becomes of the soul then ?
A. It returns^ to God who gave it, to be determined
to an anchangeable state, according to what was
done in the body. Q. 63. What shall be the portion
of the wicked and ungodly in the other world ? A.
They shall all go to hell. Q. 64. What is hell ? A.
It is a state of everlasting misery and torment, in
the lake that boms with fire and brimstone. Q. 65.
What shall be the portion of the godly in the other
world ? A. They shall all go to heaven. Q. 66.
What is heayen? A. It is a state of everlasting rest
and joy with God and Jesus Christ. Q. 67. What
life then will you resolve to live in this world ? A.
God's grace enabling me, I will live a holy, godly
life, and make it my great care and business to serve
God, and sa^e my soul.
A SHORT CATECHISM
rc-K Tira IK8TRC7CTION OF TH08B WHO ARE TO BE ADMITTED
TO THE LORD^ BUFFER.
Q. 1. What is the Lord's supper ? A. It is a sacra-
ment of the New Testament. Q. 2. Who ordained
this sacrament? A. Our Lord Jesus, in the night
vherein he was betrayed. Q. 3. What are the out-
vard signs in this sacrament } A. Giving and re-
mving bread and wine, and eating and drinking of
tbem in a solemn and religious manner. Q. 4.
What does the bread broken signify and represent
u> ns? A. The broken body of our Lord Jesus,
which was crucified for us. Q. 5. What does the
wine signify? A. The precious blood of Christ,
which was shed for us upon the cross. Q. 6. What
does the minister's giving the bread and wine sig-
nify ? A. The gracious offer that is made us in the
gospel, of Christ and all his benefits, upon the terms
of faith, and repentance, and new obedience. Q. 7.
What does the receiving of the bread and wine sig-
nify ? A. Our hearty acceptance of Christ as he is
offered to us in the gospel, and our compliance with
the terms of that offer. Q. 8. What docs the eating
of the bread and drinking of the wine signify ? A.
The satisfaction we take in Christ and his gospel,
and the nourishment of our souls thereby through
faith. Q. 9. Why did Christ ordain this sacrament ?
A. To be a memorial of his death till he come ; for
he said. Do thie in rememhranee of me, Q. 10. What
more is there in this sacrament ? A. It is a seal of
the covenant of grace, strongly assuring us, that God
is willing in Christ to be to us a God, and strongly
engaging us to be to him a people. Q. 11. Why
would you be admitted to this solemn ordinance ?
A. Because I desire to take the covenant of my bap-
tism upon myself, and to make it my own act and
deed, to join myself unto the Lord. Q. 12. What
do you think of that covenant which is there sealed ?
A. I think it is well ordered in all things, and sure ;
and I do heartily consent to it, and venture my soul
and my salvation upon it. Q. 13. What do yon
think of Christ, who is there set before you ? A. I
think he is a gracious and all-sufficient Saviour,
and I accept of him as my Lord and my God. Q.
14. What do you think of sin ? A. I think sin to be
the worst of evils ; and I do heartily repent of my
own sin, and turn from it to God. Q. 15. What do
you think of this world ? A. I think it is vanity
and vexation of spirit, and I will never set my heart
upon it Q. 16. What do you think of the other
world ? A. I think the things of another world are
real, and great, and very near, and I would there-
fore give all diligence to prepare for that world.
Q. 17. What do you think of a religious life ? A.
I think that a holy, heavenly life, spent in the ser-
vice of God, and in communion with him, is the
most pleasant and comfortable life a man can live
in this world. Q. 18. Will you then live such a life?
A. By the grace of God, I will, and with purpose of
heart will cleave to the Lord. Q. 19. What com-
munion do you desire to have with the church of
Christ? A. By faith, hope, and love, I desire to
maintain a spiritual communion with all that in
every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Q. 20. What must yon do in your preparation
for the Lord's Supper ? A. I must examine myself.
Q. 21. How must you examine yourself about your
spiritual state ? A. I must seriously inquire whether
I do in sincerity consent to the covenant of grace,
and whether I be indeed bom again. Q. 22. What
will be an evidence, that your spiritual state is bad ?
864
A CATECHISM FOR CHILDREN.
A. If I live a vain and careless life, loving the world
more than God, and minding the things of the flesh
more than the things of the Spirit, and allowing
myself in any known sin, I have reason to conclude,
that whatever profession I make, my spiritual state
is bad. Q. 23. What will be an evidence that yoar
spiritual state is good ? A. If I be heartily con-
cerned about my soul and eternity, and carefully
seek the favour of God through Christ ; if I strive
against sin, make conscience of my words and ways,
and have respect to all God's commandments, I
have reason to hope, that notwithstanding my daily
infirmities, my spiritual state is good. Q. 24. How
must you examine your conscience about your par-
ticular actions ? A. I must solemnly reflect upon
what I have done amiss in thought, word, and deed,
and I must humbly confess it before God, and judge
myself for it Q. 25. What else must you do in
your preparation for the Lord's supper? A. I must
earnestly pray to God for his Spirit and grace ; I
must meditate much upon the love of Christ in dy-
ing for me ; and I must be in charity with all men.
Q. 26. After what manner must yon receive the
sacrament? A. With humble reverence and seri-
ousness ; with sorrow for sin, and hatred of it ; with
faith in Christ, and the lively workings of pious and
devout affection towards him. Q. 27. What must
you do after you have received this sacranaent ? A.
I must walk cheerfully vrith God in all holy con-
versation, and never return again to folly. Q. 28.
Who are they that receive this sacrament unwor-
thily ? A. They who continue in love and league
with sin while they pretend to covenant with God.
Q. 29. What is the misery of those who do so ? A.
They eat and drink judgment to themselves, not dis-
cerning the Lord's body. Q. 30. Who shall be
welcome to this ordinance ? A. They who by faith
cordially consent to the covenant of grace, and do
honour to their Redeemer, by showing* forth his
death. Q. 31. What benefits do they receive by
it that duly improve it ? A. Their faith is hereby
strengthened, their resolutions are confirmed, their
comforts are increased, and they have an earnest of
the everlasting feast.
SCRIPTURE CATECHISM,
IN THE
METHOD OF THE ASSEMBLY'S.
Introduction.
We arc very happy (I know) in catechisms, which,
to the inhabitants of this valley of vitionf will be
either the means of knowledge, or the shame of igno-
rance. The variety of these forms of sound words,
while they all speak for substance the same thing,
and are all built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, derogates not at all from the honour
of the Christian doctrine, but rather (like the setting
up of several candies in the same rooni) help to dif-
fuse the light, and make it stronger. Many very
excellent expositions we have both of the Church
Cateehism and of the Assembly's^ and an ancient and
profitable one of Mr. Ball's; and yet some encou-
rage me to hope, that this essay, which is in a way
not hitherto used, that I know of, will be found not
altogether useless. Two things I aim at in it : one
is, to put the catechism into such a dress, as to make
it (if possible) both easy and copious, so as that it
may not be an insuperable task to the learner, and
yet may furnish him with plenty of useful know-
ledge. The bulk of it (which somewhat exceeds my
first intentions) shows it to be copious ; and yet I
think it is made very easy, by breaking of it into so
many short questions, and those answered by Yes
or No, which the learner may at first content himself
with, the teacher, if he pleases, reading the proofs :
and, by degrees, the learner, who is willing to take
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
866
a little pains, and begins to be Yersed in tbe Scrip-
tareSf will find it no great difiicalty to charge his
memory with most of the proofs annexed, which the
qaestion oftentimes easily introduces, and which,
bj frequent ase, will in time become familiar. I
remember to have seen an Explanation of the Attfm-
kiy't Shorter Catechism, (and I think it was the first
that ever was published,) by a great inan, the Rev.
Dt. Wallis, of Oxford, which was done by breaking
the propositions of the catecbism in short questions,
answered (as this) with Yes or No. That perform-
aDce, though very short, was an excellent precedent,
directing to a method of catechising, which has been
of good use to enrich the understanding of the
learners, without overloading their memories. The
itxt subjoined here will show that our Yea is yea,
and oar Nay, nay. To make this the more easy,
the several sections under each article may be
allotted to several catechumens.
Bat another thing I aim at, (and indeed the chief,)
is to promote the knowledge of the Scriptures. Di-
vine truths, methinks, sound best in divine lan-
^age ; and the things which God has revealed to us
ky his Sinrii, cannot be conveyed in a more safe and
proper vehicle, than by t|ie words which the Holy
Ghost teaches, (I Cor. ii. 10, 13.) which, though I
would be far from superstitiously tying myself or
others to, yet, I confess, I cannpt but think tbey
should be prefprred, I have often observed how tbe
evangelist rectifies a mistake which rQse upon a say-
ing of Christ's, only by repeating the words spoken,
iofan xxi. 23. He said no^. He shall not dif ; but, If
J via that he tarry till / come, what is that to thee ?
He said so, and no more ; add thou not to his words.
We are directed not only to think, but to spei^h, ac-
tertUnff to his word, Isa. viii. 2Q.
It is especially profitable to acquaint children be-
times with their Bibles, and to ^how them thpir reli-
gion there. Timothy's catechism was the Scripture,
which he knew awo fipi^HQ—from his very infancy,
2 Tim. iiL 1& They who are ready and mighty in
the Scriptures, will be thoroughly furnished for
every good work, and thoroughly fortified against
every evil work« What I have here endeavoured,
inay (I hope) prove a good expedient for this pur-
pose, obliging^ myself to produce a text of Scripture
for every qaestion, it cannot be thought they should
be alike apposite. Perhaps here and there one may
be found that is diverted from its primary intention
by an allusion only, (which I think is warranted by
divers of the New-Testament quotations out of the
Old,) yet I hope there are none perverted. Were we
more conversant with the inspired writings, we
sboQld (as one of the ancients speaks) *' adore the
foloess of the Scriptures." I have quoted the texts
as concisely as I (»uld, in hopes the diligent reader,
who searches tbe Scripture daily, will be stirred up
to look further into the places referred to, which be
3k
will often find very well worth his while. To that
end, I have throughout added the book, chapter, and
verse ; which yet it is needless for them who learn
by heart to trouble themselves with.
To the service of such ministers, governors of
families, and other Christians, as shall see cause to
make use of such a help, with an entire dependence
upon the grace and blessing of God, for the accept-
ableness and usefulness of it, this small oblation is
humbly tendered, by one who is earnestly desirous
to increase in Scripture knowledge, and ambitious
of the honour of being any way instrumental to
p paga 1 . Matth. Henry.
Postscript to the Third Edition.
I am willing to take this opportunity to advise one
thing more concerning the use of this catechism,
which I have found very beneficial, viz. That the
learners be pnt in their answers to turn the question
into a proposition, which they vrill easily do vrith a
little direction. Example, — ^Is man a reasonable crea-
ture ? Yes : man is a reasonable creature ; for tiiere
is a spirit in man, &o. And this will lead them, when
the question gives occasion for it, to make applica-
tion to themselves. Again, Is your business in the
world to serve the flesh ? No : it is not my business
in the world to serve the fl^h ; for we are not debtors
to the flesh.
SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy
him for ev^r.
^
1. Is man a reasonable creature? Yes : for there
is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Al-
mighty giveth him understanding, Job xxxii. 8.
Has he greater capacities than the brutes ? Yes : for
God teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth,
and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven. Job
XXXV. 11,
2. Is man his own maker ? No : it is God that
hath made us, and not we oursehres, Ps. c. 3. Is he
then his own master ? No : there is a Lord over us,
Ps. xii. 4. Is he his own carver? No : should it be
according to thy mind. Job xxxiv. 33. Is he his own
end ? No : for none of us lives to himself, or dies
to himself, Rom, xiv. 7,
3. Is it your business in the world to serve the
flesh? No: for we are not debtors to the flesh, that
we should live after the flesh, Rom. viii. 12. Is it
to pursue the world ? No : for we are not of the
world, John xvii. 16.
4. I9 your happinesji bound up in the creature 7
806
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
No : for all is vanity and vexation of spirit, Eccl. i.
14. Will the riches of the world make yon happy ?
No : for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance
of the things which he possesseth, Lake xii. 15.
Will the praise and applause of men make you
happy ? No : for it is vain-glory. Gal. v. 26. Will
sport and pleasure make yon happy ? No : for the
wise man said of laughter, It is mad, and of mirth,
What doth it ? Eccl. ii. 2. Can the gain of the world
make you happy ? No : for what is a man profited, if
he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ?
Matt. xvi. 26.
5. Is God then your chief end ? Yes : for of him,
and through him, and to him, are all things, Rom. xi.
36. Were yon made for him? Yes: this people
have I formed for myself, Isa. xliii. 21 . Were you re-
deemed for him? Yes : ye are not your own, for ye
are bought with a price, I Cor. vi. 19, 20.
6. Is it your chief business to glorify God ? Yes :
we must glorify God in our body and in our spirit,
which are God's, 1 Cor. vi. 20. Must this be ulti-
mately designed in ail our actions ? Yes : do all to
the glory of God, 1 Cor. x. 31. Is God glorified by
our praises? Yes: he that offers praise, glorifies
me, Ps. 1. 23. And is he glorified by our works ?
Yes: herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear
much fruit, John xv. 8.
7. Is God your chief good ? Yes : for happy is
the people whose God is the Lord, Ps. cxliv. 16.
Does all good come from him ? Yes : for with him
is the fountain of life, Ps. xxxvi. 9. And is all good
enjoyed in him ? Yes : the Lord is the portion of
my inheritance, and of my cup, Ps. xvi. 5.
8. Is it your chief happiness then to have God's
favour? Yes : for in his favour is life, Ps. xxx. 5.
Is that the most desirable good ? Yes : for his lov-
ing-kindness is better than life, Ps. Ixiii. 3. Do you
desire it above any good ? Yes : Lord, lift thou up
the light of thy countenance upon us, Ps. iv. 6, 7.
And should you g^ve all diligence to make it sure ?
Yes : herein we labour, that whether present or ab-
sent, we may be accepted of the Lord, 2 Cor. v. 9.
9. Is communion with God in grace here the best
pleasure ? Yes : it is good for me to draw near to
God, Ps. Ixxiii. 28. Is the vision and fruition of
God in glory hereafter the best portion ? Yes : for
in his presence there is fulness of joy, Ps. xvi. 11.
Will you therefore set your heart upon this chief
good ? Yes : Lord, whom have I in heaven but thee?
and there is none upon earth that I desire besides
thee ; when my flesh and my heart fail, God is the
strength of my heart, and my portion for ever, Ps.
Ixxiii. 25,26.
Q. 2. What rule ha» Gad given to direct ue how we
may glorify and enjoy him ?
A. The word of God (which is contained in the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testament) is the
only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy
him.
1 . Do we need a rule to direct us to our chief end ?
Yes : for we all like sheep have gone astray, Isa.
liii. 6. Could we not find it out of ourselves ? No :
for man is bom like the wild ass's oolt. Job xi. 12.
2. Is divine revelation necessary to religion 7 "Yes :
for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God, Rom. x. 17. Is not the light of natare suffi-
cient without it? No: for the world by wisdom
knew not God, 1 Cor. i. 21. Has God therefore
given us a revelation ? Yes : he hath showed thee,
O man, what is good, Mic. vi. 3. Was there reve-
lation from the beginning ? Yes : at sundry times,
and in divers manners, God spake unto the fathers,
Heb. i. 1.
3. Are the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa-
ment the word of God, and a divine revelation?
Yes: for all Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, 2 Tim. ili. 16. Were they indited by the blessed
Spirit ? Yes : for holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost, 2 Pet i. 21. Were
they confirmed by miracles ? Yes : God also bear-
ing them witness both with signs and wonders,
Heb. ii. 4. Do they recommend themselves 7 Y'^es :
for the word of God is quick and powerful, Heb. iv.
12. Is not the Bible then a cheat put apon the
world ? No : for these are not the words of him that
hath a devil, John x. 21.
4. Was the book of the Scripture written for our
use? Yes: whatsoever things were written afore-
time, were written for our learning, Rom. xv. 4.
And is it of great use ? Yes : for it is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instmction
in righteousness, 2 Tim. iii. 16.
6. Are the Scriptures the great support of our re-
ligion ? Yes : for we are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Eph. ii. 20. Are they
the standing rule of our faith and practice ? Yes ;
we must have recourse to the law and to the testi*
mony, Isa. viii. 20. Are they the only mle ? Yes;
for other foundation can no man lay, 1 Cor. iii. ii
Are they our guide ? Yes : for the commandme
is a lamp, and the law is light, Prov. vi. 23. 1>
they show us the way to heaven and happiness
Yes : for in them we think we have eternal life, a
they are they which testify of Christ, John v. 39.
6. Are the Scriptures our oracle which we m
consult ? Yes : What is written in the law, how rea
est thou? Luke x. 26. Are they our toaohsto
which we must try by ? Yes : if they speak not a
cording to this word, it is because there is no lig
in them, Isa. viii. 20. Are they the weapons of o
spiritual warfare ? Yes : Get Uiee hence, Satan, f<
it is written. Matt. iv. 10. Eph. vi. 17.
7. Is. the written word a sufficient rule T Yes : fd
the law of the Lord is perfect, Ps. xix. 7. Is tt plainl
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
867
Yes : for the word is nigh thee, Rom. x. 8. Is the
cbmch's authority tiie rule of our faith ? No : for
oar faith shoald not stand in the wisdom of men,
1 Cor. ii. 5. May we depend upon unwritten tradi-
tions? No: for we must refuse profane and old
wives' fables, 1 Tim. iy. 7.
8. Will the written word be the rule of our judg-
ment hereafter ? Yes: for we must be judged by
the law of liberty. Jam. ii. 12. Ought we therefore
to be ruled by it now ? Yes : as many as walk ac-
cording to this rule, peace shall be on them. Gal. vi.
16. And to be comforted by it ? Yes : for through
patience and comfort of the Scriptures we have hope,
Rom. XT. 4.
9. Are the Scriptures to be translated into vulgar
toDgues ? Yes : for we should hear them speak in
oor tongues the wonderful works of God, Acts ii. 11.
And must we study them? Yes : Search the Scrip-
tures, John T. 39. And labour to understand them ?
Yes: Understandest thou what thou readest? Acts
Tiii. 30. And must we rest satisfied with this reve-
lation of God's will? Yes: for if we believe not
Moses and the prophets, neither would we be per-
snaded though one rose from the dead, liuke xvi.
31. Is it a great affront to God to neglect his word ?
Yes : I have written unto them the great things of
my law, but they were counted as a strange thing,
Hos. viii. 12.
10. Must little children get the knowledge of the
Scripture ? Yes : Timothy is commended for this,
that from a child he knew the Holy Scriptures,
2 Tim. iii. 15. And must their parents instruct
them therein ? Yes : they must teach them diligently
onto their children, and talk of them, Deut. vi. 7.
11. Must we all love the word of God? Yes: O
how love I thy law ! And must we meditate therein ?
Yes : It is my meditation all the day, Ps. cxix. 97.
And will this be to our own advantage ? Yes : for it
h able to make us wise to salvation, 2 Tim. iii 15.
Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach ?
A. The Scriptures principally teach, what man
» to believe concemiog God, and what duty God
requires of man.
1. Is it necessary that we have a faith concerning
Ood? Yes : for he that comes to God must believe
that he is, and that be is the rewarder of them that
<iiligent]y seek him, Heb. xi. 6. Can we have that
faith without being taught ? No: for how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard ? Rom.
x- 14. And have they not heard ? Yes : verily their
iDond went into all the earth, an4 their words to the
ends of the world, Rom. x. 18. .
2. Is not the knowledge of God a great privilege ?
Yes : for this is life eternal, to know thee the only
tmc God, John xvii. 3. Is it not the best knowledge ?
Yes : for the knowledge of the Holy is understand-
ing, Prov. ix. lO. Does the Scripture teach us that
3i 2
knowledge ? Yes : for if we receive those words, and
hide those commandments with us, then shall we
understand the fear of the Lord, and find the know-
ledge of God, Prov. ii. 1, 5.
3. Do not the works of creation prove that there
is a God ? Yes : for we understand by the things
that are made his eternal power and godhead, Rom.
i. 20. And do not the works of providence prove it?
Yes : for verily there is a God that judgeUi in the
earth, Ps. Iviii. 11. But do not the Scriptures
tell us best what God is ? Yes : for no man hath
seen God at any time, the only-begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him,
John i. 16.
4. Are we all concerned to get the knowledge of
God ? Yes : we should all know him, from tlie
least even to the greatest, Heb. viii. 11. Must chil-
dren get that knowledge ? Yes : I write unto yon
little children because you have known the Father,
1 John ii. 13. And must we all (pow in that know-
ledge 1 Yes : we must follow on to know the Lord,
Hos. vi. 3.
5. Are we to believe what the Scripture reveals
concerning God ? Yes : for these things are written
that we may believe, John xx. 31. And must we
believe all that the Scripture reveals ? Yes : Believ-
ing all things which are written in the law and the
prophets. Acts xxiv. 14. Must we believe that
which is not revealed ? No : for the things of God
knows no man, but the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. ii. 11.
6. Does God require duty of man ? Yes : for unto
man he said. Behold the fear of the Lord, that is
wisdom ; and to depart from evil, that is understand-
ing, Job xxviii. 28. Is it enough to believe the
truth revealed, if we do not the duty that is required ?
No: for faith without works is dead, James ii. 26. Is
it enough to do the duty required^ though we do not
believe the truth revealed ? No : for he that believ-
eth not God, hath made him a liar, 1 John v. 10.
7. Does the Scripture teach us what duty God re-
quires ? Yes : He has showed thee what the Lord
thy God requires of thee, Mic. vi. 8. And must we
do the duty that the Scripture teaches ? Yes : we
must observe to do according to all that is written
therein, and not turn from it to the right hand, or
to the left. Josh. i. 7. Must this obedience always
accompany faith ? Yes : for they which have be-
lieved in God must be careful to maintain good
works, Tit iii. 8.
Q.4. What ig God?
A. God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchange-
able in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice,
goodness, and truth.
1. Is God a Spirit ? Yes : for Christ himself has
said, God is a Spirit, John iv. 24. Is he a pure
Spirit? Yes: for God is light, and with him is no
darkness at all, 1 John i. 5. Has he a body as we
866
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
have \ No : Hast thou eyes of flesh ? or seest thou
as a man seeth ? Joh x. 4. Can he be seen with
bodily eyes? No: for he is one whom no man
hath seen, or can see, 1 Tim. yi. 16. Arb not the
angels spirits ? Yes : he maketh his angels spirits,
Ps. civ. 4. Are not the souls of men spirits ? Yes :
for he formeth the spirit of man within him, Zech.
xii. 1. But is God a Spirit like unto them ? No :
for he is the Father of spirits, Heb. xii. 9.
2. Is God infinite ? Yes : for we cannot by search-
ing find out God, Job xi. 7. Is he contained in any
place ? No : for the heaven of heavens cannot con-
tain him, 1 Kings viii. 27. Is he every where pre-
sent ? Yes : for whither can we go from his Spirit,
or flee from his presence ? Ps. cxxxix. 7. Can any
hide himself in secret places that God shall not see
him ? No : for do not I fill heaven and earth, saith
the Lord, Jer. xxiii. 24.
3. Is God eternal ? Yes : from everlasting to ever-
lasting, thou art God, Ps. xc. 2. Had he beginning
of days ? No : for he is the Ancient of days, Dan.
vii. 9. Shall there be any end of his life ? No :
for he is the same, and his years have no end, Ps.
cii. 27. Is there with him any succession of time ?
No : for his days are not as the days of man. Job x.
5. Can he die ? No : he is the only potentate, that
hath immortality, 1 Tim. vi. 16.
4. Is God unchangeable ? Yes : for he is the Fa-
ther of lights, with whom is no variableness, nor
shadow of turning. Jam. i. 17. Is there any decay
of his perfections ? No : for he fainteth not, neither
is weary, Isa. xl. 528. Is there any alteration in his
counsels ? No : for he is not a man that he should
repent, 1 Sam. xv. 29. Is it well for us that he is
unchangeable ? Yes : I am the Lord, I change not,
therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed, Mai.
111. 6.
5. Is God infinite in his being? Yes: for he has
said, I AM THAT I AM, Exod. iii. 14. Is he self-
existent? Yes : for the Father hath life in himself,
John V. 26. Is he the best of beings ? Yes : for who
is a God like unto him? Exod. xv. 11. Is he the
first of causes ? Yes : for he is the Father, of whom
are all things, and we in him, 1 Cor. viii. 6. Is he
the highest of powers? Yes: for he is King of
kings, and Lord of lords, 1 Tim. vi. 15.
6. Is he a God of perfect knowledge ? Yes : for
his understanding is infinite, Ps. cxlvii. 5. Can
any thing be hid from him ? No : for all things are
naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom
we have to do, Heb. iv. 13. Does he know things
to come ? Yes : for he declareth the end from the
beginning, Isa. xlvi. 10. Does he know our hearts?
Yes: for he understandeth our thoughts afar off*,
Ps. cxxxix. 2. Does he know all our actions?
Yes : for his eyes are upon the ways of man, Job
xxxiv. 21.
7. Is God infinitely wise ? Yes : for wisdom and
might are his, Dan. ii. 20. Are all his works wisely
done ? Yes : in wisdom he hath made them all, Ps.
civ. 24. And particularly the work of redemptioD ?
Yes: for it is the wisdom of God in a mystery »
1 Cor. ii. 7. Can the wisdom of God's counsels be
fathomed? No: O the depth of the riches of the
wisdom and knowledge of God ! Rom. xi. 33.
8. Is he a God of power? Yes : God hath spoken
once, twice have I heard this, that power belongeth
unto God, Ps. Ixii. 11. Is he Almighty? Tes: he
is the Lord God Almighty, Rev. xv. 3. Is bis power
irresistible ? Yes : for none can stay his hand, Dan.
iv. 35. Is his sovereignty incontestable ? Yes : for
he giveth not account of any of his matters. Job
xxxiii. 13. Is any thing too hard for him ? No :
for with God all things are possible, Matt. xix.
26.
9. Is he a God of perfect holiness ? Yes : for holy,
holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, Isa. vi. 3. Is there
iniquity with God? No: he is of purer eyes than
to behold iniquity, Heb. i. 13. Is this his glory?
Yes: for he is glorious in holiness, Exod. xv. 11.
And must we give him the glory of it ? Yes : give
thanks at the remembrance of his holiness, Ps. xxx.
4. And must we study herein to resemble him?
Yes : Be ye holy, for I am holy, 1 Pet. i. 16.
10. Is he a just and righteous Governor ? Yes :
the Lord is righteous in all his ways, Ps. exlv. 17.
Did he ever do wrong to any of his creatures ? No :
there is no unrighteousness in him, Ps. xcii. 15.
And does justice please him ? Yes : the righteous
Lord loveth righteousness, Ps. xi. 7.
11. Is he a merciful God? Yes: he is the Lord,
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, Exod. xxxiv.
6. And a good God? Yes: thou art good, and
dost good, Ps. exix. 68. Is he universally good ?
Yes : for he is good to all, and his tender mercies
are over all his works, Ps. cxlv. 9. Is he in a
special manner good to his own people ? Yes : for
truly God is good to Israel, Ps. Ixxiii. 1, And
should we acquaint ourselves with his goodness?
Yes: O taste, and see that the Lord b good, Ps.
xxxiv. 8.
12. Is he a God of truth ? Yes : the truth of the
Lord endures for ever, Ps. cxvii. 2. Will he per-
form all his promises ? Yes : for he is faithful that
hath promised, Heb. x. 23. Is there any danger of
his deceiving us ? No : it is impossible for God to
lie, Heb. vi. 18.
13. Is this a complete description of God ? No :
for, lo, these are but parts of his ways ; and how
little a portion is heard of him! Job xxvi. 14.
Must we therefore always speak of God with reve-
rence ? Yes : for behold God is great, and we know
him not. Job xxxvi. 26. And must we pray to him
to teach us what we shall say ? Yes : for we can-
not order our speech by reason of darkness. Job
xxxvii. 19.
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
869
Q. 5. Are there more gods than one.
A. There is but one only, the living and true God.
1. Are there many gods? No: for though there
be that are called gods, yet there is but one God,
1 Cor. Tiii. 6, 6. Can there be but one? No: for
he has said, I am God, and there is none else ; I am
God, and there is none like me, Isa. xlvi. 0. Are
yon sure there is but one ? Yes : for the Lord our
God is one Lord, and there is none other but he,
Mark xii. 29, 32.
2. Is the God whom we serve that one God?
Tes : for Jehovah he is God, Jehovah he is God,
1 Kings xviii. 39. Is he infinitely above all pre-
tenders? Tes: for he is a great King above all
gods, Ps. xcT. 3. Is he God alone ? Yes : O Lord
of hosts, God of Israel, thou art the God, even thou
alone, Isa. xxxvii. 16. Are all other gods false
gods? Yes: for all the gods of the nations are
idols, but the Lord made the heavens, Ps. xevi. 6.
3. Is our God the true God ? Yes : the Lord he is
the true God, Jer. x. 10. Is he the only true God ?
Yes : this is life eternal, to know the only true God,
John xvii. 3. Is he the living God? Yes: the
hring God, and an everlasting King, Jcr. x. 10. Is
kethe Sovereign Lord? Yes: for he is God over
all, blessed for evermore, Rom. ix. 5. Is this one
God enough? Yes: for he is God All-sufficient,
Gen. xvii. 1.
4. Is the Lord Jehovah the maker of all things ?
Tes : he is the everlasting God, even the Lord, the
Creator of the ends of the earth, Isa. xl. 28. Is he
yoor Maker ? Yes : he is the Lord our Maker, Ps.
xcv. 6. Is he the owner of all things ? Yes ; for
ke is the most high God, possessor of heaven and
earth. Gen. xiv. 19. Is he your rightful owner?
Tes : we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep
of his hand, Ps. xcv. 7. Is he the ruler of all things?
Tes : for his kingdom ruleth over all, Ps. ciii. 19.
Is he your ruler? Yes: O Lord, truly I am thy
servant, I am thy servant, Ps. cxvi. 16. Is he the
benefactor of all the creatures ? Yes : for he giveth
to all life, and breath, and all things. Acts xvii. 25.
Is be your benefactor? Yes: for he daily loadeth
V with his benefits, Ps. Ixviii. 19. Shall he there-
lore be yours by your own consent ? Yes : O God,
thou art my God, Ps. Ixiii. 1.
Q. 6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are tbree persons in the Godhead ; the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; and these
three are one God ; the same in substance, equal in
power and glory.
I. Are there three gods? No: for the Lord is
one, and his name one, Zech. xiv. 9. Is there more
than one person in the Godhead ? Yes : for God
said. Let us make man, Gen. i. 26. Are there dis-
tioct persons in tlie Godhead ? Yes : for h6 who
is the brightness of his Father's glory, is the express
image of his person, Heb. i. 3. Are there three
persons in the Godhead ? Yes : for there arc three
that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost, 1 John v. 7.
2. Is the Father God ? Yes : for there is one God
and Father of all, Eph. iv. 6. Is Jesus Christ the
Word ? Yes : his name is called the Word of God,
Rev. xix. 13. Is the Word God ? Yes : for in the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God, John i. 1. Is the Holy
Ghost a divine person ? Yes : for the Spirit search-
eth all things, 1 Cor. ii. 10.
3. Is it the personal property of the Father to be-
get the Son ? Yes : Thou art my Son, this day have
I begotten thee, Ps. ii. 7. Is it the personal pro-
perty of the Son to be begotten of the Father ? Yes :
for he is the only-begotten of the Father, John i. 14.
Is it the personal property of the Holy Ghost to
proceed from the Father and the Son ? Yes : for
Christ says, I will send you the Comforter, even the
Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father,
John XV. 26.
4. Are these three one God ? Yes : for it is said
expressly, these three are one, 1 John v. 7. Are
they the same in substance, and equal in power and
glory ? Yes : for Christ says, I and my Father are
one, John x. 30. Can this doctrine be measured by
reason ? No : for flesh and blood hath not revealed
it to us, Matt xvi. 17. But ought we to believe it ?
Yes : for we are baptized in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Matt,
xxviii. 19. and we are blessed with the grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the
communion of the Holy Ghost, 2 Cor. xiii. 14. And
ought we to improve it? Yes : that we all may be
one, as the Father is in Christ, and he in the Father,
that we also may be one in them, John xvii. 21 .
Q. 7. What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are his eternal purposes,
according to the counsel of his own will : whereby
for his own glory he hath fore-ordained whatever
comes to pass.
' 1. Does God dispose of all things that come to
pass ? Yes : My times are in thy hand, Ps. xxxi.
15. Does he do it according to his own will : Yes :
for he hath done whatsoever he pleased, Ps. cxv.
2. Can any control his will? No: for he doth
according to his will in the armies of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth, Dan. iv. 35.
Has he determined before what he will do ? Yes :
for known unto God are all his works, from the
beginning of the worid. Acts xv. 18.
2. Is there a counsel then in all the will of God ?
Yes : for he worketh all things after the counsel of
his own will, Eph. i. 11. Is it an eternal counsel ?
Yes : for it was ordained before the world, I Cor.
870
A SCRIPTURE CATEC/IISM.
ii. 7. Isitfree? Yes: Even so Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. Matt. xi. 26. Is it unchangeable ?
Yes : the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, Ps.
xxxiii. 11. Is it for his own glory ? Yes : that we
should be to the praise of his glory, Eph. i. 12.
Were all the events of time ordained from eter-
nity? Yes: He performeth the thingthat is appointed
for me. Job xxiii. 14. Does any thing come to
pass by chance } No : for the lot is cast into the lap ;
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord, Prov.
xvi. 33. Does every thing come to pass as God
has ordained it ? Yes : for there are many devices
in a man's heart ; nevertheless the counsel of the
Lord, that shall stand, Prov. xix. 21.
4. Can we search out God's counsels ? No : for
his judgments are a great deep, Ps. xxxvi. 6. Ought
we not therefore to acquiesce in them? Yes: Here
am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him, 2
Sam. XV. 26. May we question God's proceedings ?
No: for his thoughts are above our thoughts, Isa.
Iv. 9.
Q. 8. How does God execute his decrees ?
A. God executes his decrees in the works of
creation and providence.
1. Shall all God's decrees be executed? Yes:
for the Lord of hosts hath sworn, surely as I have
thought, so shall it come to pass, Isa. xiv. 24. Can
any of them be defeated ? No: forthe Lord of hosts
hath purposed, and who shall disannul it ? Isa. xiv.
27. Did God execute his decree in the work of
creation ? Yes : he hath created all things, and for
his pleasure they are and were created, Rev. iv. 11.
And does he execute his decrees in the works pf
Providence? Yes: for out of the mouth of the Most
High both evil and good proceed. Lam. iii. 36.
2. Did God begin to work in the creation of the
world ? Yes : Thou, Lord, in the beginning didst lay
the foundations of the earth, Heb. i. 10. Is he still
working ? Yes : for Christ says. My Father work-
eth hitherto, and I work, John v. 17. Are all his
worics copied out of his counsels ? Yes : for they
are what his hand and his counsel determine be-
fore to be done. Acts iv. 28.
3. Are God's works many ? Yes : O Lord, how
manifold are thy works! Ps. civ. 24. Are they
great ? Yes : his work is honourable and glorious,
Ps. cxi. 3. Are they perfect in their kiud ? Yes :
God is the Rock, his work is perfect, Deut. xxxii. 4.
Can they be amended ? No : whatsoever God doth,
nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from
it, Eccl. iii. 14. Ought they to be studied ? Yes :
They are sought out of all them that have pleasure
therein, Ps. cxi. 2. Is it a great sin to neglect them ?
Yes : because they regard not the work of the Lord,
neither consider the operation of his hands, he shall
destroy them, and not build them up, Ps. xxviii. 5.
No # for no man can find oat the work that Ood
makes from the beginning to the end, EccL iii. 11.
Can his designs in them be accounted for? No:
for his way is in the sea, and his path in Che g^reat
waters, Ps. Ixxvii. 19. But is he glorified in them ?
Yes : all his works do praise him, Ps. cxiv. 10.
. Q. 9. What is the worh of creation f
A. The work of creation is God's making all
things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the
space of six days, and all very good.
1. Did God create the world ? Yes: in the be-
ginning God created the heavens and the earth. Gen.
i. 1 . Did he create every thing in the world ? Yes :
for without him was not any thing made that was
made, John i. 3. John xii. 7—9. Did he create the
world by his word ? Yes : for through faith we un-
derstand that the worlds were framed by the ipvord
of God, Heb. xi. 3. Did all things come into being
by that word ? Yes : for by the word of God the
heavens were of old, 2 Pet iii. 5. And are they
thereby preserved in being? Yes: by the same
word they are kept in store, v, 7. Did God find any
difllculty in making the world ? No : for he spake
and it was done ; he said. Let there be light, and
there was light, Ps. xxxiii. 9. Gen. i. 3. Did he
need assistance in it ? No : for he stretcheth forth
the heavens alone, and spreadeth abroad the earth
by himself, Isa. xliv. 24.
2. Did he make all out of nothing ? Yes : for the
things which are seen were not made of the things
which do appear, Heb. xi. 13. Did he bring light
out of darkness? Yes: for God commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, 2 Cor. iv. 6. And
order out of confusion? Yes: for the earth was
without form and void, Gen. i. 2. Did he make all
in six days? Yes: for in six days the Lord made
heaven and earth, Exod. xx. 1 1 . Did God make all
well ? Yes : God saw every thing that he had
made, and behold it was very good. Gen. i. 31.
Did he make all firm? Yes: he -hath made a de-
cree which shall not pass, Ps. cxlviii. 6. And all
for himself? Yes: the Lord has made all things
for himself, Prov. xvi. 4.
3. Did God make all things by Jesus Christ ?
Yes : for by him also he made the worlds, Heb. i. 2.
and created all things by Jesus Christ, Eph. iii. 9.
Col. i. 16. John i. iii. Did God manifest his own
perfections in the work of creation ? Yes : for the
heavens declare the glory of God, Ps. xix. 1. Must
we give him the glory of this work ? Yes : we must
worship him that made the heaven and the earth.
Rev. xiv. 7. Most we give him thanks for his crea-
tures ? Yes : every creature of God is good, and to
be received with thanksgiving, 1 Tim. iv. 4. May
we be encouraged by the work of creation to trast in
God? Yes: My help cometh from the Lord which
4. Can all God's works be thoroughly discovered ? | made heaven and earth, Ps. cxxi. 2.
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
871
4. Did God create the angels ? Yes : He maketh
his aogrels spirits, Heb. i. 7. Are tbey attendaots
upon him? Yes: thousand thousands minister
onto him, and teo thousand times ten thousand
stand before him, Dan. vii. 10. Are they employed
for the good of the saints? -Yes: they are sent
forth to minister for them which shall be heirs of
salvation, Heb. i. 14. Have true believers commu-
nion with them in faith, hope, and love ? Yes : for
we are come to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb. xii. 22.
5. Did all tbe angels continue in their integrity ?
No: There were angels that left their first state.
Jade 6. Is it probable that they who fell, fell by
pride ? Yes : for tbey that are lifted up with pride,
fall into the condemnation of the devil, 1 Tim. iii.
6. Were they panisbed for their sin ? Yes : God
spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them
down to hell, 2 Pet. ii. 4.
Q. 10. How did God create man ?
A. God created man male and female, after his
ima^e, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness,
with dominion over the creatures.
1. Is man God's creature ? Yes : for we are also
his offspring. Acts xvii. 28. Were our first parents
the work of his hands? Yes: male and female
created he them, and called their name Adam, Gen.
V. 2. Was man made with a consultation ? Yes :
for God said, LiCt us make man, Gen. i. 26. Do all
tbe children of men descend from Adam and Eve ?
Yes : for God bas made of one blood all nations of
men. Acts xvii. 26. . .^
2. Was man's body at first made out of the earih ?
Yes : God made man of the dust of the ground, Gen.
ii. 7. And are our bodies of the earth earthy ? Yes :
for I also am formed out of the clay, Job xxxiii. 6.
Batare they not curiously wrought? Yes: for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made, Ps. cxxxix. 14.
Is God tbe former of our bodies? Yes: Thou hast
clothed me with skin and flesh, and fenced me with
bones and sinews. Job x. 11. Is he the author of
our senses ? Yes : the hearing ear, and seeing eye,
tbe Lord has made, even both of them, Prov. xx. 12.
3. Is God the Father of our spirits ? Yes : for he
breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, Gen.
ii. 7. Has God given each of us a soul ? Yes : The
Lord liveth that made us this soul, Jer. xxxviii. 16.
b it a rational soul ? Yes : for the spirit of a man
is the candle of the Lord, Prov. xx. 27. Is it im-
mortal ? Yes : for the spirit of a man goes upward,
Ecci. iii. 21. Does it die with the body ? No: for
when the dost returns to the earth as it was, the
Spirit returns to God who gave it, Eccl. xii. 7. Is
God then the Sovereign of the heart ? Yes : for he
has said. Behold, all souls are mine, Ezek. xviii. 4.
)f Qst we therefore commit our souls to him ? Yes :
Into thine hand I commit my spirit, Ps. xxxi. 5.
4. Was man made after God's image? Yes:
God created man in his own image, Gen. i. 27. Did
that image consist in knowledge ? Yes : for we are
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that
created us. Col. iii. 10. Did it consist in righteous-
ness and true holiness ? Yes : for the new man after
God is created in righteousness and true holiness,
Eph. iv. 24. Was there in man at first a perfect
purity and freedom from sin ? Yes: Thou wast per-
fect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created,
Ezek. xxviii. 15. compare xvi. 13. Was there in
him a perfect rectitude and disposition to good?
Yes : for God made man upright, Eccl. vii. 29. Are
there some remains of God's image still upon man ?
Yes : for men are made after the similitude of God,
Jam. iii. 9. Was man made with a dominion over
the creatures ? Yes : for thou hast put all things
under his feet^ Ps. viii. 6. Have we not reason to
admire God's favour to man ? Yes : Lord, what is
man, that thou art mindful of him 7 Ps. cxiiv. 3.
Q. 11. What are God^sworJu of providence?
A. God's works of providence are his most holy,
wise, and powerful preserving and governing all bis
creatures, and all their actions.
1. When God had made the world, did he leave
it to itself? No : for he upholdeth all things by the
word of his power, Heb. i. 3. Does he see to the whole
creation? Yes : for the eyes of the Lord are in every
place, Prov. xv. 3. Does he condescend to take
notice of his creatures? Yes: he humbleth him-
self to behold the things that are in heaven and in
the earth, Ps. oxiii. 6. Is any thing at a distance
from him ? No : for he is not far from every one of
us, Acts xvii. 27. Does he look on as one uncon-
cerned ? No : for his eyes behold, and his eyelids
try, the children of men, Ps. xi. 4.
2. Does God look after the world of angels ? Yes :
for he maketh peace in his high places. Job xxv. 2.
Does he look after this lower world ? Yes : for the
eyes of all wait upon him, Ps. oxlv. 15. Does he
take care of the fowls? Yes : our heavenly Father
feedeth them, Matt. vi. 26. What ! even the spar-
rows? Yes : not one of them shall fall to the ground
without our Father, Matt. x. 29. What! and the
ravens? Yes: he feeds the young ravens which
cry, Ps. cxlvii. 9. Is he the Protector and Bene-
factor of all the creatures ? Yes : Thou preservest
them all, Neh. ix. 6. Is he man's Protector and
Benefactor? Yes: for in him we live, and move,
and have our being. Acts xvii. 28. Do we depend
upon God for tbe support of our life ? Yes : for he
holdeth our soul in life, Ps. Ixvi. 9. And for the com-
forts of life ? Yes : for he giveth us rain from
heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with
food and gladness, Acts xiv. 17. And do we depend
upon him for the safety of our life ? Yes : he keep-
eth all our bones, Ps. xxxiv. 20. And for the con-
972
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
tinaance of life ? Yes : for be is tbjr lifd^, and the
length of thy days, Deut xxx. 20.
3. Does God govern all things ? Tes : his king-
dom raleth over all, Ps. ciii. 19. Does he govern
the holy angels ? Yes : fbr they do his command-
ments, Ps. ciii. 20. Does he govern the heavenly
bodies ? Yes : the stars in their courses fought
against Sisera, Judg. v. 20. Does he govern the
power of the air ? Y^s : stormy winds fulfil his word,
Ps. cxlviii. 8. Does he order what weather it shall
be ? Yes : for he saith to the snow, Be thou u|K>n
the earth. Job xxxvii. 6. And does he gOvem the
inferior creatures ^ Yes : he spake, and locusts came,
Ps. cv. 34. Can he command them ? Yes : I have
commanded the ravens to feed thee, 1 Kings xvii. 4.
Can he control them? Yes: he shut the lions'
mouths, Dan. vi. 22. Has he a sovereign dominion
over the whole creation? Yes: fbr the Lord of
hosts is his name, Isa. xlvii. 4.
4. Does God govern the children of men ? Yes :
the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, Dan.
iv. 32. Does he govern kings ? Yes : ^or the king's
heart is in the hand of the LordyProv. xxi. 1. And
does he govern kingdoms ? Yes : for he is the Go-
vernor among the nations, Ps. xxii. 28. And fami-
lies too ? Yes : for except the Lord build the house,
they labour in vain that build it, Ps. cxxvii. 1.
Does he govern great men ? Yes : for God is the
judge, he puts down one, and sets up another, Ps.
Ixxv. 6, 7. And mean men too ? Yes : for every
Inan's judgment proceedeth from the Lord, Prov.
xxix. 26. Can man make his own fortune ? No :
for the way of man is not in himself, neither is it in
man that walketh, to direct his steps, Jer. x. 23.
When man purposes, does God dispose ? Yes : a
man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth
his steps, Prov. xvi. 9. Do all comforts and crosses
come from God's hand ? Yes : for he has said, I
make peace, and create evil ; I the Lord do all these
things, Issc. xlv. 7. Does God's providence extend
itself to the smallest things ? Yes : The very hairs of
your head are all numbered. Matt x. 30.
5. Is God's government holy ? Yes : he is holy
in all his works, Ps. cxlV. 17. Is it wise ? Yes : he
is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working,
Isa. xxviii. 29k Is it powerful ? Yes*, for when
he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble.
Job xxxiv. 29. Is it rightful ? Yes : God is greater
than man. Job xxxiil. 12. Is it just } Yes : for
shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? Gen.
xviii. 25. Does God sometimes reward and punish
in this life ? Yes : the righteous shall be recom-
pensed in the earth, much more the wicked and the
sinner, Prov. xi. 31. But does he always? No:
for all things come alike to all, Eccl. ix. 1, 2.
6. Does God govern the world (br the good of his
church ? Yes : for Jacob my servant's sake, and
Israel mine elect, I have called thee by thy name.
Isa. xlv. 4; Is the government of the world com -
mitted to the Lord Jesus ? Yes : for he is he^d
over ail things unto the church, Eph. i. 22. And is
all ordered for God's glory ? Yes : for the Lord
alone shall be exalted, Isa. ii. 11. Is it a comfort
to good men that God governs the world ? Yes :
The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice, Ps. xcvii. 1.
Is it a terror to the wicked ? Yes : The Lord reigns,
let the people tremble, Ps. xcix. 1. Ought we to
give him the praise of it ? Yes : Hallelujah, the
Lord God omnipotent reigns. Rev. xix. 6.
Q. 12. What spetial act of providence did God
exercise towards man in the estate wherein ke was
created i
A. When God had created man, he entered into
a covenant of life with him, upon condition of per-
fect obedience, forbidding him to eat of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.
1. Did God make man happy as well as holy >
Yes : for he put him into the garden of Eden, Gen.
ii. 15. Did he provide comfortably for him ? Yes :
for he said, I will make him a help meet for him.
Gen. ii. 18. Did he admit him into communion
with himself ? Yes : fOr he then blessed the seventh
day, and sanctified it. Gen. ii. 3. Was God well
pleased In him ? Yes : for his delights were with
the sons of men, Prov. viii. 31.
2. Did God give him a laW ? Yes: the Lord God
commanded the man. Gen. ii. 16. Did he give him
a command of trial ? Yes : Of the tree of know-
ledge of^good and evil thou shalt not eat of it. Gen.
ii# 17. Did he assure him of happiness, if he obey-
ed ? Yed : for of every tree in the garden (even the
tree of life) thou mayest freely eat. Gen. ii. 16. Did
he threaten death upon his disobedience ? Yes :
for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely
die, Gdn. ii. 17.
3. Was this God's covenant with Adam ? Yes :
for we read of those who, like Adam, transgressed
the covenant, Hos. vi. 7. niarg. Was, Do this and
live, one branch of that covenant ? Yes : for the
man that doeth them, shall live in them, Gal. iii. 12.
Was, Fail and die, the other branch of the covenant?
Yes : the soul that sinneth, it shall die, Ezek. xviii.
4. Was this the covenant of innocency ? Yes : for
the law was not of faith. Gal. iii. 12. Was there a
mediator of this covenant ? No : for it is the better
covenant that is established in the hands of a Medi-
ator, Heb. viii. 6.
Q. 13. Did our first parents continue in the state
wherein they were first created ? ^
A. Our first parents being left to the freedom of
their own will, fell from the state wherein they were
created, by sinning against God.
1. Is man now in the state wherein he was cre-
ated ? No : for God made man upright ; but they
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
873
lave sought out many inventions, Eccl. vii. 29. Can
Ke now say we are perfectly holy ? No : If I say I
ata perfect, that shall prove me perverse^ Job ix. 20.
Can we say we are perfectly happy ? No : for man
is k>ra to trouble. Job v. 7. Are we as we were
then ? No : man was planted a noble vine, bnt is
tamed into the degenerate plant of a strange vine,
Jer. ii. 21. Did man continue long in his state of
ionocence ? No : For man being in honour abideth
Dot, Ps. xiil. 12.
2. Did God leave man to the freedom of his own
will ? Yes : For if thou scornest, thou alone shall
bear it, Prov. ix. 12. Did God draw A.dam to sin ?
No : for Grod tempteth no man, James i. 13. Is he
any way the Anthor of sin ? No : far be it from God
tbat he should do wickedness. Job xxxiv. 10. Did
be do what was fit to be done to prevent it? Yes :
What could have been done more to my vineyard ?
Isa. y. 4. Was he obliged to do more ? No : for
maj be not do what he will with his own ? Matt
XX. 15. Does all the blame of man's sin lie upon
himself theli ? Yes : O Israel, thou hast destroyed
thyself, Hos. xiii. 9.
3. Did man fall by sinning against God T Yes :
ThoQ hast fallen by thine iniquity, Hos. xiv. 1.
Was that the beginning of sin in this world ? Yes :
for by one man sin entered into the world, Rom.
T. 12.
Q. 14. What w sin ?
A. Sin is any want of conformity nnto, or trans-
gression of, the law of God.
1. Is there a moral difference of good and evil ?
Yes: for we must cease to do evil, and learn to do
veil, Isa. i. 16, 17. Is it all alike then what we do ?
No: for God shall bring every work into judgment,
whether it be good, or whether it be evil, Eccl. xii.
14. Is there such a thing as sin in thought ? Yes :
for the thought of foolishness is sin, Prov. xxiv. 9.
May sin be committed in Word too t Yes : for in
the multitude of words there wattteth not sin, Prov.
1.19.
2. Does sin suppose a law? Yes : fbr where there
is no law, theilB is no transgression, Rom. iv. 15. and
^- 13. Is sin the breach of a law ? Yes : for sin is
the transgression of the law, 1 John ill. 4. Is it
^'s law only that can make a thing to be sin ?
Yes : For aguinst thee, thee only, have I sinned, Ps.
li. 4. Is every breach of God's law sin ? Yes : for
all aorighteousbess is sin, 1 John V. 17. Are we to
JQdge of sin by the law ? Tes : for by the law is the
knowledge of sin, Rom. iii. 20. Could we discover
MD without some law ? No : For I had not known
sin bnt by the law, Rom. vii. 7. Is the transgression
of the law of nature sin? Yes : for they that have
^t the written law, show the work of the law written
in their hearts, Rom. ii. 14, 15. But does the writ-
^^ law discover the root of sin ? Yes : I h&d not
known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not
covet, Rom. vii. 7.
3. Is ignorance of God sin ? Yes : He shall take
vengeance on them that know not God, 2 Thess. i.
8. Is disaffection to God's government sin ? Yes:
My people would not hearken to my voice, and Israel
would none of me, Ps. Ixxxi. 11. Is all disobedi-
ence to God's law sin ? Yes : For the wrath of God
comes upon the children of disobedience, Col. iii. 6.
Is it a sin to omit the good which God has com-
manded? Yes : for to him that knows to do good,
and doth it not, to him it is sin, Jam. iv. 17. Is it a
sin to do it negligently? Yes : for if thou doest not
well, sin lies at the door. Gen. iv. 7. Is it a sin to
do the evil which God has forbidden ? Yes : for he
has said, O do not this abominable thing which I
hate, Jer. xliv. 4. Is the inclination to evil sin ?
Yes t for St. Paul speaks of the sin that dwells in
ns> Rom. vii. 17.
4k Is sin the worst of evils ? Yes : it is an evil
thing, and a bitter, to forsake the Lord, Jer. ii. 19.
Is the sinfulness of it the worst thing in it? Yes i
for sin by the conmiandment becomes exceeding
sinful, Rom. vii. 13» Is sin worse than affliction ?
Yes : for Moses by faith chose rather to suffer affile^
tion than to enjoy the pleasures of sin, Heb. xi. 25*
Is it displeasing to God ? Yes: God is angry with
the wicked every day, Ps^ vii. 11 « Is it destructive
to ourselves ? Yes : be sure your sin will find you
out. Numb, xxxii. 23.
5. Ought We not therefore to take heed of sin 7
Yes : Stand in awe, and sin not, Ps. iv. 4. And of
all appearances of it? Yes: abstain from all ap-
pearances of evil, I Thess. Vk 22^ And all approaches
towards it? Yes: Touch not the unclean things
2 Cor. vi. 17. And most we hate it ? Yes : Ye that
love the Lord, hate evil, Ps. xcvii. 10. Must little
children take heed of sin ? Yes : My little children^
these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. 1 John
ii. 1. Is it folly to make light of sin ? yA fools
make a mock at sin, Prov. xiv. 9. Will our observ-
ing the law of God be the best preservative against
sin ? Yes : Thy word have I hid in my heart, that
I might not sin against tliee, Ps. cxix. 11^ Will an
eye to God be the best argument against sin ? Yes :
How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against
God) Gen. xxxix. 9.
Q. 15. What was the sin whereby our first parents
fell from the state wherein they were created ?
A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the
state wherein they were created, was their eating
the forbidden fruit
1. 0id our first parents eat the forbidden fruit?
Yes : Thou hast eaten of the tree of which I com-
manded thee, saying. Thou shalt not eat of it. Gen.
iii. 17. Was their doing so disobedience? Yes:
for it was by one man's disobedience that many were
874
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
made sinners, Rom. t. 19. Did the woman eat for-
bidden frait first ? Yes : the woman bein^^ deceived
was in the transgression, 1 Tim. ii. 14. Did the ser-
pent tempt her to it ? Yes : the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, 2 Cor. xi. 3. Was that serpent
the devil? Yes : The old serpent is the devil and
Satan, Rev. xx. 2. Did he aim to make man as
miserable as himself ? Yes : he wa3 a murderer from
the beginning, John viii. 44.
2. Did the tempter teach them to qaestion the
command ? Yes : he said to the woman. Hath God
said ye shall not eat? Gen. iii. 1. Did he promise
them safety in sin? Yes: he said, Ye shall not
sorely die. Gen. iii. 4. Did he promise them advan-
tage by the sin ? Yes : In the day ye eat thereof
your eyes shall be opened, v. 5. Did he feed them
with high thoughts of themselves? Yes: Ye shall
be as gods, v. 5. Did he suggest to them hard
thoughts of God ? Yes : for he said, God doth know
this, V. 5. Did Eve do well to parley with him?
No: for we should cease to hear the instruction that
causeth to err from the words of knowledge, Prov.
xix. 27.
3. Did the devil prevail in the temptation ? Yes :
for she took of the fruit, and did eat, and gave also
to her husband with her, and he did eat. Gen. iii. 6.
Was there in this sin the lust of the flesh ? Yes :
for she saw that the tree was good for food. Was
there in it the lust of the eye ? Yes : for she saw
that it was pleasant to the eyes. And the pride of
life ? Yes : for she saw it was a tree to be desired
to make one wise. Was unbelief of the word of God
at the bottom of it? Yea: It is the evil heart of'
unbelief that departs from the living God, Heb. iii.
12. Was there in it an opposition to the divine law?
Yes: for sin took occasion by the commandment,
Rom. vii. 8. Was dbobedience in a small matter a
great provocation ? Yes : for rebellion is as the sin
of witchcraft, and stubbornness is iniquity and idol-
atry, l4hm. XV. 23. If Adam fell thus, have we
any reason to be secure ? No : Wherefore let him
that thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall, 1 Cor.
X. 12.
Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam* i first trans-
grettion ?
A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only
for himself, but for his posterity, all mankind de-
scending from him by ordinary generation, sinned
in him, and fell with him in his first transgression.
1. Are we concerned in our first parents' disobe-
dience? Yes : for by the offence of one, judgment
came upon ail men to condemnation, Rom. v. 18.
Were we in their loins when they ate the forbidden
fruit ? Yes : for Adam called his wife's name Eve,
because she was the mother of all living, Gen. iii.
20. Was Adam a common father ? Yes : for he
was to be fruitful^ and multiply, and replenish the
earth. Gen. i. 28. Was he a public person ? Yes :
for he was the figure of him that was to come, Rora.
V. 14. Was the covenant made with him, and bis
posterity? Yes: for God always established his
covenant with men, and with their seed after them.
Gen. ix. 9.
2. Was Adam's sin our ruin then? Yes: for
through the offence of one many are dead, Rom. v.
16. Was the honour of human nature thereby stain-
ed? Yes: for Adam begat a son in his own like-
ness, Gen. V. 3. Was the power of the human nature
thereby weakened? Yes : for when we were with-
out strength, Christ died for us, Rom. v, 6. Was
the purity of it thereby corrupted ? Yes : for in as,
that is, in oar flesh, there dwells no good thing,
Rom. vii. 18. Was Adam himself degenerated ?
Yes : for God said to him. Dust thou art. Gen. iii.
19. And are we in like manner degenerated ? Yes :
for we have all borne the image of the earthy, 1 Cor.
XV. 49.
3. Is this degeneracy universal? Yes: for all
flesh hath corrupted his way. Gen. vi. 12. Did our
Lord Jesus descend from Adam by ordinary genera-
tion? No : for he is the Lord from heaven, I Cor.
XV. 47. Did he then sin in Adam ? No : for he is
undefiled, separate from sinners, Heb. vii. 26. Did
all the rest of mankind sin in Adam ? Yes : for how
can he be clean that is born of a woman ? Job xx v.
4. Are the ways of the Lord herein equal ? Yes :
but our ways are unequal, Ezek. xviii. 29.
Q. 17. Into what state did the fall bring mankind ?
A. The fall brought mankind into a state of sin
and misery.
1. Is mankind in a state of sin? Yes: for both
Jews and Gentiles are ail under sin, Rom. iii. 9. Is
a state of sin a sad state ? Yes : for they that are
in the flesh cannot please God, Rom. viii. 8. Did
the fall bring us into a state of sin ? Yes : for by it
many were made sinners, Rom. v. 19. Does the
world continue in that state ? Yes : for the whole
world lies in wickedness, 1 John y. 19. And are
you by nature in that state ? Yes : if I justify my-
self, my own mouth shall condemn me. Job ix. 20.
2. Is mankind in a state of misery ? Yes : the
misery of man is great upon him, Eccl. viii. 6. Is sin
the cause of all that misery ? Yes : for death entered
by sin, and so death passed upon all men, Rom.
V. 12. Is misery the consequence of sin ? Yes : for
evil pursues sinners, Prov. xiii. 21. Do all the crea-
tures share in the sad effects of sin ? Yes : cursed
is the ground for thy sake. Gen. iii. 17. And could
all this mischief come from that one sin ? Yes : for
how great a matter does a little fire kindle, James
iii. 5, 6.
3. Did the fall bring mankind into a state of apos-
tasy from God ? Yes : for they arc all gone aside,
Ps. xiv. 3. Is that a sinful state ? Yes : for it is
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
875
freat wboredom to depart from the Lord, Hos. i. 2.
ADd is it a miserable state ? Yes : Woe onto them,
for they have fled from me, Hos. irii. 13.
4. Did the fall bring mankind into a state of sla-
vey to Satan ? Tes : for they are taken captive by
him at his will, 2 Tim. ii. 26. Is that a sinful state?
Yes : for the prince of the power of the air works
in the children of disobedience, Eph. ii. 2. Is it a
miserable state ? Yes : for the God of this world
hath blinded their minds, 2 Cor. iv. 4. Is it like
the condition of the prodigal son ? Yes : for he went
into a far country, wasted his sabstance, began to
be in want, and was sent into the fields to feed swine,
Lake xt. 13 — 16.
Q. 18. Wkerein eonsiiU the iinfiUnesi of that state
viereinto man fell ?
A. The sinfulness of that state whereinto man fell
consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of
original righteonsness, and the corruption of his
whole nature, (which is commonly called original
sin,) together with all actual transgressions which
proceed from it
1. Are we all bom under guilt? Yes : for all the
world is guilty before God, Rom. iii. 19. Does the
vbole race of mankind stand attainted at God's bar?
Yes: for the Scripture hath concluded all under
sin. Gal. iii. 22. Is this according to God's rule of
jod^ent ? Yes : for he Tisiteth the iniquity of the
faUiers upon the children, Exod. xx. 5. Is not God
unrighteous who thus takes yengeance ? No : God
forbid, for then how shall God judge the world,
Rom. iii. 6.
2. Are we all bom in sin ? Yes : Behold, I was
shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother con-
ceive me. Pa. Ii. 5. Are we of a sinful brood ? Yes :
for we are a seed of eviMoers, Isa. i. 4. May we
be truly called sinners by nature? Yes: Thou
wast called a transgressor from the womb, Isa.
xlviii. 8.
3. Is there in erery one of us by nature the want
of original righteousness ? Yes : there is none right-
eous, no, not one, Rom. iii. 10. Is there in us an
tvenion to that which is good ? Yes : for the carnal
nind is enmity against God, Rom. viii. 7. Is there
to OS a moral impotency to that which is good ?
Tes: for the carnal mind is not in subjection to the
law of God, neither indeed can be, Rom. viii. 7.
Can we of ourselves do any thing that is good ?
No: for we are not sufllcient of ourselves to think
aoy thing as of ourselves, 2 Cor. iii. 6.
4. Is there in us a proneness to that which is evil ?
Tfs : My people are bent to backsliding from me.
Hoi. xi, 7. Are there the snares of sin in our bodies ?
Yes: for there is a law in the members warring
afainat the law of the mind, Rom. vii. 23. And are
tbere the seeds of sin in our souls? Yes: For when
I would do goody evil is present with me, Rom. vii.
21. And is the stain of sin upon both? Yes: for
all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,
Rom. iii. 23.
5. Did we all bring sin into the world with us?
Yes : for man is born like the wild ass's colt, Job
xi. 12. Is it in little children ? Yes : for foolishness
is in the heart of a child, Prov. xxii. 16. As reason
improves, does sin grow up with it? Yes: for when
the blade is sprang up, then appear the tares also^
Matt. xiii. 26. Is it not a wonder of mercy then
that we are any of us alive ? Yes : it is of the Lord's
mercies that we are not consumed, Lam. iii. 22.
6. Is the whole nature of man corrapted by the
fall ? Yes : The whole head is sick, and the whole
heart is faint, Isa. i. 5. Is the understanding cor-
rapted ? Yes : the understanding is darkened, be-
ing alienated from the life of God, Eph. iv. 18. Is
that unapt to admit the rays of divine light ? Yes :
for they are spiritually discerned, 1 Cor. ii. 14. Is
the vrill corrupted? Yes: The neck is an iron
sinew, Isa. xlviii. 4. And is that unapt to submit
to the rale of the divine law ? Yes : For what is
the Almighty (say they) that we should serve him ?
Job xxi. 15. Are the thoughts corrapted ? Yes :
for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his
youth. Gen. viii. 21. Is the fancy full of vanity ?
Yes: vain thoughts lodge within us, Jer. iv. 16.
Are the affections corrapted ? Yes : It is a carnal
mind, Rom. viii. 7. Is conscience itself corrapted ?
Yes : even the mind and conscience is defiled. Tit.
i. 16. Is the whole soul corrapted? Yes: the
heart is deceitful above all things, Jer. xvii. 9.
7. Is this corraption of the mind sin ? Yes : for
it is enmity agianst God, Rom. viii. 7. Have we it
from our original ? Yes : for that which is bom of
the flesh is flesh, John iii. 6. Do we derive it through
our parents? Yes : for who can bring a clean thing
out of an unclean ? Job xiv. 4. Does it render us
odious to God's holiness? Yes: for the foolish
shall not stand in his sight, Ps. v. 6. Does it render
us obnoxious to his justice ? Yes : for death reigns
over them that have not sinned after the similitude
of Adam's transgressions, Rodil v. 14.
8. Does this original corraption produce actual
transgression ? Yes : for a corrapt tree cannot
bring forth good fruit. Matt. vii. 18. Does it pro-
duce it betimes? Yes : for the wicked are estranged
from the womb, they go astray as soon as they are
bom, speaking lies, Ps. Iviii. 3. Does it produce it
naturally ? Yes : as a fountain casteth out her waters,
Jer. vi. 7. Does all sin begin in the heart? Yes :
for when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin,
James i. 16. Is it not necessary therefore we should
have a new nature ? Yes : Marvel not that I said
unto you, Ye must be bom again, John iii. 7. Can
we get to heaven without it ? No : for flesh and
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, 1 Cor
XV. 60.
876
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
Q. 19. What t# the mitery of that estate whereinto
man fell f
A. All mankind by their fall lost communion with
God, are under bis wrath and curse, and so made
liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself,
and to the pains of bell for ever.
1. When our first parents had eaten the forbidden
fruit, did they become as gods? No: they were
like the beasts that perish, Ps. xlix. 12. Did the
devil make his words good then ? No : for he is a
liar, and the father of it, John viii. 44. Did not he
put a cheat upon them ? Yes : the woman said, the
serpent beguiled me, Gen. iii. 13. Did shame come
in with sin ? Yes : for they knew that they were
naked. Gen. iii. 7. Did fear come in with sin ?
Yes : for they hid themselves from the presence of
the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Gen.
iii. 8. Was not that their misery ? Yes : for fear
hath torment, 1 John iv. 18.
2. Did they lose communion with God? Yes:
for he drove out the man. Gen. iii. 524. Is fallen
man unworthy of communion with God ? Yes : for
what communion has light with darkness ? 2 Cor.
ii. 14. Is be unfit for communion with God ? Yes :
for can two walk together except they be agreed ?
Amos iii. 3. Could fallen man ever get to heaven
by virtue of the covenant of innocency ? No : for
tsherubims and a flaming sword were set to keep
that way to the tree of life. Gen. iii. 24.
3. Is fallen man under God's wrath ? Yes : for
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, against
M ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, Rom.
i. 18. Are we all so by nature ? Yes : we are by
nature children of wrath, even as others, Eph. ii. 2.
Are we so by reason of sin ? Yes : for because of
these things cometh the wrath of God upon the chil-
dren of disobedience, Eph. v. 6. Is there a distance
between Gt)d and man by reason of sin ? Yes: your
iniquities have separated 'between you and your
God, Isa. lix. 2. Is there a quarrel between God
^nd man by reason of sin ? Yes : My soul loathed
them, and their soul also it abhorred me, Zech. xi. 8.
Is it not sad to lie under God's wratb ? Yes : for
who knows the power of his anger ? Ps. xc. 11.
4. Is fallen man under God's curse ? Yes : for
cursed is every one that continues not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them,
Gai. iii. 10. Is this curse in force against all wick-
ed people ? Yes : the curse of the Lord is in the
house of the wicked, Prov. iii. 33. Has sin brought
a curse upon the world ? Yes : Cursed is the ground
for thy sake, Gen. iii. 17.
6. Is mankind by the fall become liable to the
miseries of this life ? Yes : In sorrow shalt thou
eat of it all the days of thy life. Gen. iii. 17. Are
we all by nature liable to these miseries ? Yes :
for man is born to trouble. Job v. 7. Is all the
hurtfulness of the creatures the effect of sin ? Yes:
Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth. Gen. liL lb.
Is the toil of business the effect of sin ? Yes : In
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, v. 19. Is
pain and sickness the effect of sin t Yes : There is
not any rest in my bones, because of my sin, Ps.
xxxviii. 3. Are all our crosses the effect of sin ?
Yes : our sins have withholden good things from
us, Jer. V. 25. Should we not therefore bear them
patiently? Yes: Wherefore doth a living man
complain, a man for the punishment of his sin ?
Lam. iii. 39.
6. Is all mankind by the fall become liable to
death itself? Yes: for so death passed upon all
men, for that all have sinned, Rom. v. 12. Was a
sentence of death immediately passed upon fallen
man ? Yes : Dust thou art, and to dust shalt thou
return, Gen. iii. 19. Do we all deserve death ? Yes :
the wages of sin is death, Rom. vi. 23. Is it the
natural consequence of sin? Yes: for sin, when
it is finished, brings forth death. Jam. i. 15. Can
any avoid it? No : What man is he that livetb and
shall not see death? Ps. Ixxxix. 48. Is it deter-
mined ? Yes : it is appointed to men once to die,
Heb. ix. 27. Do you expect it? Yes : I know that
thou wilt bring me to death, Job xxx. 23. Is sin
the sting of death ? Yes : the sting of death is sin,
1 Cor. XV. 56. Is the amazing fear of death the
effect of sin ? Yes : there are those who through
fear of death are all their life-time subject to bond-
age, Heb. ii. 15. Is the body's rotting in the grave
the effect of sin ? Yes : as drought and heat con-
sume the snow-waters, so doth the grave those which
have sinned. Job xxiv. 19.
7. Is mankind by the fall become liable to the
pains of hell for ever? Yes: for he that wanders
out of the way of understanding shall remain in the
congregation of the dead, Prov. xxi. 16. Ps. ix. 17.
Can God make a soul for ever miserable? Yes:
for after he hath killed he hath power to cast into
hell, Luke xii. 5. Is there a state of punishment in
the other life ? Yes : for we are warned to flee from
the wrath to come. Matt iii. 7. Is it the desert of
sin ? Yes : for when God renders to every man ac-
cording to his works, he will render indignation and
wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of
man that doeth evil, Rom. ii. 8, 9. Will it be the
portion of impenitent sinners? Yes: Ye generation
of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of
hell. Matt, xxiii. 33.
8. Is hell the wrath of an everlasting God ? Yes:
for the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brim-
stone, doth kindle it, Isa. xxx. 33. Is it tiie an-
guish of an immortal soul ? Yes : for their worm
dieth not, Mark ix. 44. Is any way of relief open
to them ? No : Betwixt us and you there is a gulf
fixed, Luke xvi. 26. Is their punishment thereforei
everlasting? Yes : These shall go away into evei^'
A SCRIPTURE CATECHISM.
877
lasting panishment. Matt. xxv. 46. Should we not
every one of as dread it ? Yes : for it is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God, Heb.
X. 31. Isa. xxxiii. 14.
Q. 20. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the
state of ain and misery ?
A. God having out of his mere good pleasure from
all eternity elected some to eternal life, did enter into
a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of a state
of sin and misery, and to bring them into a state of
salvation by a Redeemer.
1. Migfat not God justly hftve left all mankind to
perish in their fallen state ? Yes : for in bis sight
shall no man living be justified, Ps. cxliii. 2. Would
God have been a loser by it, if they had been left to
perish ? No : for, can a man be profitable to God ?
Job xxii. 2. But did he leave them to perish } No :
for the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards
man appears. Tit. iii. 4. Was the case of fallen
angels helpless and desperate ? Yes : for God spared
not them, 2 Pet. ii. 4. But is the case of fallen man
so > No : for he is long-suffering to us- ward, not
willing that any should perish, 2 Pet. iii. 9. Is God's
patience a token for good ? Yes : the long-suffering
of our Lord is salvation, 2 Pet. iii. 15. Does it ap-
pear that God has a good will to man's salvation ?
Yes : As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no plea-
sure in the death of the wicked, but tiiat he turn and
live, Ezek. xxxiiv 11- Is this an encouragement to
as all to hope in his mercy ? Yes : for if the Lord
had been pleased to kill us, he would nothave showed
US such things as these, Jndg. xiii. 23.
2. Conld man help himself out of his state of sin
and misery ? No : for when we were without streng^
Christ died for the ungodly, Rom. v. 6. Could any
ereatare help us } No : for none of them can by any
means redeem his brother, Ps. xlix. 7. Could God
himself only help us ? Yes : O Israel ! thou hast
destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help, Hos. xiii. 9.
Did God contrive a way for man's recovery ? Yes :
be hath devised means that his banished may not be
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